Not only has Northvolt escaped the environmental procedure normally imposed on large industrial projects, but the company will be able to carry out important stages of the industrial megaproject without even having to obtain ministerial authorization, we learned. The duty. This simplified procedure is authorized by the Quebec Ministry of the Environment.
To obtain the right to destroy wetlands and wooded areas of its site, Northvolt filed a “request for ministerial authorization” in September, a procedure provided for under the Environmental Quality Act (LQE). . This mechanism provides for an analysis by ministry experts, but also discussions with the promoter, before giving him the green light.
The company proceeded in the same way in December to obtain authorization to shortly begin the construction of the first building of its future industrial complex, as well as the development of certain related infrastructure. This second request is still being analyzed by the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP).
This procedure involving a “ministerial authorization request” is less demanding than that which is usually imposed on industrial projects of the same scale as that of Northvolt and which would involve the following stages: the carrying out of an impact study, exchanges and requests for clarification on the content of the study with different ministries, but also an examination carried out under the aegis of the Bureau d’audiences publique sur l’environnement (BAPE).
” Compliance “
The company will, however, be able to benefit from an even more simplified procedure for important milestones of this project financed by the Legault and Trudeau governments. Under an “environmental authorization regime” included in the EQA, Northvolt will indeed be able to carry out certain major works by submitting a “declaration of conformity”, indicated the MELCCFP, in response to questions from the Duty.
Under this “simple administrative mechanism” provided for so-called “low risk” work, according to the jargon of the ministry, the promoter can submit online a declaration indicating that the planned activities comply with the regulations in force, and more precisely the Regulation on the supervision of activities according to their impact on the environment (REAFIE), which came into force at the end of 2020, under the Legault government.
Such a declaration of conformity “could be possible for the aqueduct system, the sewer system and for rainwater management, if all the conditions provided for by the REAFIE are met,” specifies the ministry. We do not know, at this time, what volumes of water will be affected by these systems. One thing is certain, the waterworks and sewer system of the industrial complex is likely to be important, in particular because Northvolt plans to employ up to 3,000 people on its site.
“The company could submit a declaration of conformity for the construction of temporary access roads in flood-prone areas,” adds the MELCCFP. A document produced by the firm WSP for Northvolt and filed in September with the ministry already indicated the company’s intention to proceed in this way.
” Rigor “
In another exchange document between the government and Northvolt, dated November 2023, the ministry confirms to the company that the temporary path can be exempted from a request for ministerial authorization. At the same time, the company is informed that it will be able to build “culverts” to cross watercourses, provided that it complies in particular with the regulations for “wet, water and sensitive environments”. In a short paragraph, Northvolt simply responds that it will respect it.
In an email in response to questions from Dutythe company emphasizes that it intends to comply with environmental requirements “with the same rigor”, whether it is a request for ministerial authorization or a declaration of conformity.
The general director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Alain Branchaud, nevertheless invites Northvolt to “avoid proceeding with declarations of conformity”. He argues that “compliance declarations can drag a project into a series of lobster traps, with no way back, and thus authorize it, regardless of its overall impact on the environment.”
Lawyer at the Quebec Environmental Law Center (CQDE), Camille Cloutier also believes that the regulation allowing a “declaration of conformity” to be carried out for certain aspects of Northvolt’s work “allows the project to be divided into different activities, which prevents us from having an overview of the impacts of the project.
An opinion shared by Mr. Branchaud, reiterating his wish to see the largest private industrial project in recent decades be subject to an “independent environmental assessment”. According to him, this is the only approach to “improve the project that is on the table”.
If the current process continues, Northvolt will also have to obtain ministerial authorizations for other stages of its project. Federal authorizations under the Fisheries Act and the Species at Risk Act may also be necessary, since the company will draw and discharge water into the Richelieu River. This watercourse is notably a habitat of the copper redhorse, a species on the verge of extinction.