Northvolt assures that it was following “accidental clearing” that it received a notice of non-compliance on Wednesday from the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and parks.
Daily life The Press revealed Thursday morning that the ministry sent a notice of non-compliance to Northvolt on Wednesday for having “cleared the entire area to be conserved” of a marsh.
In a press release, the company, which is currently carrying out preparatory work in anticipation of the construction of its future battery cell factory in Saint-Basile-le-Grand, in Montérégie, confirmed having received the notice from the ministry after the “accidental clearing of a wetland with an area of 1044 square meters located on the Saint-Basile-le-Grand portion of the land to accommodate Northvolt Six”.
“Concretely, these are two mature ash trees which were cut down in a humid environment excluded from the work zone. This wetland is disconnected from the water system and its ecological functions have been assessed as “low to medium”,” argued the Swedish company in its statement.
According to Northvolt, it was the environmental consulting services cooperative it hires to monitor logging work that noticed the error on February 16. The felling work is carried out in partnership with the Urban Wood Valorization Center.
Following this situation, Northvolt says it has already proposed corrective measures to the Ministry of the Environment, namely the planting, at the end of site preparation work, of seven alternate-leaved dogwoods, seven Hart dogwoods and seven colorless willows. These plantings should be able to be done this spring, the company said.
“Northvolt is committed to doing things well and respecting environmental regulations. It will continue to work to make its processes ever more efficient and to learn lessons from this situation,” the company said in its press release.
According to what was reported The Pressno fine was imposed on Northvolt, but in its notice of non-compliance, the Ministry of the Environment warned that it reserves the right to take administrative or judicial measures.