Wetlands on Northvolt Field | A real estate project blocked in the spring

As recently as last March, the Ministry of the Environment blocked the real estate project of the previous owner of the land of the former CIL explosives factory because it “undermined the conservation of biodiversity”. It is here, on the South Shore, that Northvolt wants to build a battery cell mega-factory.

Six months after this refusal, the Swedish company wants to obtain the green light to intervene in wetlands considered by officials as a “dynamic ecosystem of a complex composition which makes it possible to maintain a great diversity of habitats”.

This analysis is found in the opinion of the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) that The Press obtained under the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information.

Northvolt, which submitted its request for ministerial authorization for the first phase of its work last September, hopes to be able to begin work by the end of the year. The Legault government wants to see this project move forward.

The former owner, Quartier MC2 – a consortium in which we find businessman Luc Poirier – had to wait almost three years before encountering a refusal from the Ministry. This developer aimed to build more than 2,400 homes as part of a type subdivision. Transit Oriented Development (TOD), near the McMasterville commuter train station.

What Quebec criticized the consortium for: insufficient mitigation measures for the repercussions on wetlands as well as for the biodiversity of this site, which is still partly contaminated and marked by more than 120 years of heavy industrial activity – from 1878 to 1999.

“We must not forget that this is not SEPAQ land [Société des établissements de plein air du Québec] », Launched the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, last Friday, before the Council on International Relations of Montreal, referring to the industrial past of the site. “It’s probably a place where fish have three eyes. »

Stéphanie Pellerin, associate professor in the department of biological sciences at the University of Montreal and specialist in wetlands, consulted the ministerial analyzes at our request. She believes that the conclusions of the Ministry of the Environment “at the time” are still relevant. The specialist is obviously not on the same wavelength as Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon.

“Although certain wetlands are the result of decontamination activities, it is, for me, clear that originally (before 1900) this site was a wetland,” she adds, mentioning the proximity of the river. , and the speed with which wetlands were created on the site.

The immense land of more than 170 hectares, which straddles Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville, has more than 21.6 hectares of wetlands. Quartier MC2 planned to encroach on 6.5 hectares of wetlands.

According to Environmental Quality Act of Quebec, any wetland with the desired characteristics deserves to be saved, even those created by human intervention.

“The loss incurred by the project corresponds to 81% of the remaining wetlands found on the territory of McMasterville and 25% of those listed in Saint-Basile-le-Grand,” denounces the opinion of the officials.

In comparison, the immense Northvolt complex will affect twice as many, or 13 hectares of wetlands. “Permanent encroachments represent 60% of the total area of ​​wetlands on the site,” writes the company in its request for ministerial authorization.

The habitat of the least bittern

In its response to Quartier MC2, the Ministry was particularly attentive to the fate of the little bittern, a bird considered a vulnerable species whose presence has been detected three times since 2016.

“This species is therefore deemed to be present on the site,” decides the MELCCFP.

According to the same document, other vulnerable or threatened species frequent the site, including the brown bat, which is endangered. Non-status raptors and common amphibians were also observed, such as the snapping turtle and the spiny softshell turtle.

In order to save the least bittern habitat, the Ministry requires the establishment of a 500-meter buffer zone around a 2.4-hectare cattail marsh found in the northwest portion of the site; the bird nesting in the shelter of urbanized environments. The applicant, Quartier MC2, objected to this zone. He argues that the nesting of the bittern in the area has never been confirmed. He further mentions that this is carried out in marshes of at least five hectares.

In its ministerial request, Northvolt emphasized that its “final plan” made it possible to avoid “any encroachment” in certain wetlands, in particular those which “represent the most important habitat for the least bittern”.

“Our request takes into account the constraints of the site, including the presence of wetlands generated by land rehabilitation work that has become necessary after 120 years of heavy industrial operation,” says company spokesperson Laurent Therrien.

The buffer zone required by the Environment could nevertheless give headaches to Northvolt since its factory project provides for the encroachment of more than half of this 500 meter zone, we note when reading its request .

The Minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, Benoit Charette, sent several positive signals to the pending construction site.

“The regulations are respected and we are going to hope for the realization of this great project,” he declared in particular in a press scrum on the sidelines of an economic announcement in Montreal in mid-November. “There is no privilege granted to the company and it collaborates well on each of the requirements,” he assured.

“The establishment of a manufacturing project on an industrial site is consistent with the laws and regulations in force,” his office also indicated to Duty. “With regard to the wet and natural environments of the site, the company will have to meet the requirements of the Ministry of the Environment, in addition to providing all the necessary insurance and compensation,” the firm specified.

Disappearance of wetlands

Due to urban and agricultural development, wetlands have become rare throughout Montérégie, where they cover “less than 5% of the territory,” the Ministry analyst also noted.

“It’s a shame, the number of wetlands that remain in Montérégie. The tipping points are turning red and are we still going to give building permits in environments that have ecological value? », deplores Jean-François Girard, biologist and lawyer specializing in environmental law at DHC Avocats.

“What shocks me the most in this issue is that we are giving up the defeat of saying: ‘We are going to create green industries, so we should agree to destroy natural environments of ecological importance’”, notes for his shares Stéphanie Pellerin.

According to her, “in the mind of the government, the project is done”.

With the collaboration of William Leclerc, The Press