The Northvolt site leaked industrial contaminants into the Richelieu River, according to data obtained by Duty. The company assures that the measures put in place since the start of the work make it possible to avoid leaks, but environmental groups are asking the government to intervene to assess the risks for the watercourse.
It has been a known fact for several years: the soil and groundwater of the land that cost the Quebec government $240 million contains a cocktail of contaminants, the result of decades of manufacturing chemicals, fertilizers and explosives. on the site. The presence of this pollution therefore dates back several years before the arrival of Northvolt in Montérégie.
At the end of the decontamination work carried out between 2012 and 2015, a little more than 50,000 tonnes of heavily contaminated soil were left on site, in a containment zone. But a report from the firm Englobe, which dates from June 2015 and which Duty had obtained following a request for access to information, allows us to note that the presence of contaminated soil is far from limited to this area. The land of the future factory still has numerous “areas to be rehabilitated in the future”, which therefore contain soils containing industrial contaminants.
Several of these are located in areas where Northvolt, before carrying out the preparatory work for the project, exposed the soil by razing the vegetation which until now covered the land. The Legault government authorized these operations without requiring decontamination since the project is industrial in nature. The company also planned for the removal and off-site management of some soils.
No formal impact study was required to assess the risks associated with contaminated soil, as the project was not subject to the environmental procedure that normally applies to all large industrial projects in Quebec. The government also authorized, in June, the “establishment” and “extension” of “rainwater management systems”, a usual procedure in order to drain this vast site, which is located very close to the Richelieu River and upstream of three drinking water intakes.
Toxic substances
Samples collected in September and analyzed by a certified laboratory at the request of the Society to Overcome Pollution (SVP), the Society for Nature and Parks (SNAP Quebec) and the Citizen Action Committee — Northvolt Project, however, reveal that the Northvolt land would have leaked industrial contaminants towards the Richelieu River.
Water and sediment samples collected off-site, but in watercourses and runoff from the field, indicated the presence of different types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). For example, two types of PAHs considered carcinogenic or potentially carcinogenic exceeded the criteria set for the protection of aquatic environments, in a proportion varying from 2.8 times to 8 times, according to the analysis commissioned by the groups.
Other contaminants whose presence in the soil had been documented before the arrival of Northvolt’s machinery were noted in the samples collected just outside the site, including cobalt and arsenic. All the data must also be made public Monday morning at a press conference and as part of a “public meeting” planned for the evening.
BAPE exam
“It is not good news to note the presence of PAHs on the coast of the Richelieu River,” summarizes the co-president of the SVP, Daniel Green, emphasizing that these contaminants are “particularly toxic” for aquatic environments, and especially for wildlife. This type of substance is harmful enough to cause, for example, malformations in fish.
According to him, the results of the analyzes show that the issue of contaminated soil present on the site would have deserved to be evaluated as part of an environmental review including an impact study and an investigation by the Office of Public Hearings on the environment (BAPE).
“If there had been an environmental assessment, it would have been shown that the land was too contaminated to authorize a construction site before decontamination. All the data existed. There was no secret about the risks of recirculating contaminants flowing towards the Richelieu River. You had to be dishonest to dismiss this issue, but the government was in a hurry,” laments Mr. Green.
A point of view shared by the general director of SNAP Quebec, Alain Branchaud. The latter is particularly concerned about the potential effects of this “new threat” for the copper redhorse, a species on the verge of extinction and which only exists in Quebec, mainly in the Richelieu River. The portion of the river that runs along the Northvolt site is also part of its “critical habitat” protected under the Species at Risk Act.
The latter, but also the Fisheries Act, prohibits the release into the environment of substances that can harm this species, which is very vulnerable to contaminants. It is up to Northvolt to ensure that it complies with these provisions, indicates Fisheries and Oceans Canada, specifying that it has not taken “samples/verifications/analyses of water discharges from the Northvolt site”.
Surveillance
Mr. Branchaud also believes that the government authorities failed in their duty of supervision. “It is not up to citizens to check whether there are risks to the environment and human health. It is the responsibility of the authorities to monitor this contamination and check whether there are any issues for public health. Serious measures should be taken to prevent leaks of contaminants. »
Duty questioned the Quebec Ministry of the Environment twice on this subject in recent weeks. “To date, the ministry has not carried out any inspections or samples in connection with water discharges into the Richelieu River on the Northvolt site,” it was initially indicated.
In a second response, the ministry specified that “inspections” were carried out and that they “made it possible to confirm that the sediment barriers were installed in the locations provided for in the ministerial authorizations issued to the company, and maintained adequately”. What’s more, the company must keep “records.”
The federal Ministry of the Environment, for its part, responded that an inspection had taken place “to verify compliance with the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act”. However, it was not possible to obtain details on this subject.
No risk
Northvolt, for its part, wants to be reassuring about the measures taken to avoid leaks of contaminants to the Richelieu River. “A laboratory accredited by the Ministry of the Environment carries out the analysis of samples taken from our outlets for more than a hundred parameters […] on a weekly basis (when there is precipitation), and the results obtained to date do not demonstrate any issue of contaminant leaks to the Richelieu River. »
Northvolt adds that “runoff in the main work area is currently directed to a retention basin which does not have an outlet and therefore does not flow into the environment. When there is enough water in the basin, the water will be pumped to a temporary treatment unit that we have on site, before being released into the river.
Regarding the data which will be made public at a press conference on Monday, the company affirms that “if the sampling was carried out outside the Northvolt site and the work zone, it is impossible to affirm that the results are directly linked to Northvolt’s activities or its site if the water sampled comes from an effluent supplied by multiple sources.
Although the issue of contaminated soil was not the subject of an impact study as part of the Northvolt Six project, it will be addressed in the impact study of the Revolt battery recycling plant project. At the moment, we do not know when it will be filed.
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