The Quebec Environmental Law Center (CQDE) is launching a new legal action to stop work destroying natural environments on the land of the future Northvolt factory.
As part of an introductory request for judicial review, the CQDE argues that the decision of Quebec Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, to authorize the destruction of wetlands “is unreasonable, having regard to liability of the Minister to protect wetlands and the species living there.
The documents filed in support of this new legal action by the CQDE in the Northvolt case emphasize that accepting that compensation plans for the loss of natural environments on the site be submitted and approved by the ministry once the destruction has been completed on the site “is contrary” to the objectives of the Environmental Quality Act.
The company has 36 months to submit and have its plan accepted, according to the terms agreed as part of the authorization to destroy wooded areas of the site, but also wetlands which until now sheltered rich biodiversity. A sector of 30 to 50 hectares will have to be preserved or restored elsewhere in the region.
“The minister did not complete the process of searching for information allowing him to make an informed decision,” asserts the CQDE in this new action, first revealed by Radio-Canada on Monday morning.
In a reaction sent by email, the company refused to comment on this new approach. To be able to move forward with the destruction of natural environments on the site, Northvolt says it had to “rigorously and seriously demonstrate” to the Quebec Ministry of the Environment and the municipalities concerned that the project “complied with environmental regulations in force”.
The work of felling thousands of trees and backfilling 138,000 m2 wetlands will continue over the coming weeks. It must be said that federal regulations require the company to complete the destruction of potential nesting sites for migratory birds before the birds arrive in the spring.
In January, the Superior Court rejected a request for an injunction from the CQDE aimed at temporarily stopping work on the Northvolt site.
“High ecological value”
The green light for the Northvolt project risks having “major” impacts for wildlife, since the disappearance of natural environments of “high ecological value” will cause the irreversible loss of habitats for several species, including threatened species. This is what emerges from the reports of the Legault government experts produced as part of the analysis of the project and first revealed by The duty.
And despite the reassuring speech of Northvolt, which promises in particular to preserve certain wetlands, the “loss” of more than 950,000 m2 of natural environments constitutes a point of no return for the biodiversity of the sector. Indeed, the experts underline, the surface area of “residual” natural environments would “not be sufficient to maintain the essential functions supporting local and regional wildlife biodiversity, in this case avian fauna, turtles and bats”.
The analysis report cites as an example the authorized destruction of a pond which is a habitat for three species of turtles at risk, including the spiny softshell turtle, which is “endangered”. All these species are theoretically protected.
In an opinion from the Regional Directorate for Analysis and Expertise dated November 7, 2023 obtained by The dutyhowever, we recommended the protection of this 1700 m pond2. As compensation, however, Northvolt promises “the creation of a habitat for turtles of an equivalent nature” elsewhere on the site, within the “residual environments”. The company has three years to get its plan approved.
The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake has also launched legal action against the governments of Quebec and Canada in the Northvolt case. The approach to the courts states that authorization for the project was granted without respecting “the duty to consult” of the First Nations.
As soon as the factory project was announced in September 2023, the Legault government rejected the idea of subjecting Northvolt to the environmental assessment procedure regularly used for large-scale industrial projects in Quebec. It must be said that last year the government modified the regulations which would have automatically submitted the project to this procedure. The changes came into effect on July 20, 2023; the project was announced on September 28.
According to the Legault government, “the site is suitable for industrial use”. Last year, however, he refused another construction project on the same site. Experts from the Ministry of the Environment then justified their decision by emphasizing the rich biodiversity of the land, the essential nature of the natural environments for the region and the “impressive diversity” of the fauna, including the presence of species threatened.
More details will follow.