Northern Pulp in Pictou County, Nova Scotia has found another leak in its underwater effluent pipeline.

The mill was planning a 9 day shutdown to start on June 20th, but now that another leak has been found, the shutdown will occur immediately.

The pipeline carries hot liquid waste from the mill under the estuary of the East River, where it enters Pictou Harbour, to the treatment facility of Boat Harbour. The company was already in the process of building a new high-density polyethylene pipe to replace the original fibreglass line installed in 1967. The new 91.5-centimetre line will be laid on the river floor beside the old 106.5-centimetre pipe all the way across the 1,200-metre-wide estuary.

A leak occurred last November that resulted in a temporary shutdown to repair the damage, followed by more pipeline problems that resulted in 21 days of lost production for the mill.

The mill has received all regulatory approvals and expects to complete the project this month and resume production by June 20.

The company’s timber operations will be scaled back for most of June.

Source:
Northern Pulp annual closure early (Chronicle Herald)