Montreal Sewage Dump to Begin Wednesday

Release of 2.1 billion gallons of wastewater into St. Lawrence River to proceed under a number of conditions

By PAUL VIEIRA

Updated Nov. 10, 2015 4:51 p.m. ET 2 COMMENTS

Montreal said its controversial plan to dump up to 8 billion liters (2.1 billion gallons) of untreated sewage into the St. Lawrence River will begin Wednesday after the move received a green light from Canada’s new environment minister.


A man fished off a shore of the St. Lawrence on Tuesday. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said on Monday she would allow the discharge if Montreal tracked the discharge and provided results of water-quality tests. PHOTO: PAUL CHIASSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS


The mayor of Canada’s second-biggest city acknowledged that the decision was deeply unpopular but said the discharge was unavoidable.

“It is not in a happy fashion that we approach this,” Denis Coderre said Tuesday. “If we could have avoided this choice, we would have done so. And if there had been better options, we would have adopted them.”

The discharge will take place over no more than six days, and proceed under a number of conditions outlined by the Canadian government aimed at mitigating the environmental risk, city officials said on Tuesday.

The sewage dump has generated criticism from environmentalists and lawmakers on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border and was an issue in last month’s national elections in Canada. The St. Lawrence, which connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean and flows in a northeasterly direction, forms part of the international boundary between the two countries.

“It’s unsettling to see Montreal have so little regard for the waterway, the wildlife that inhabits it and those that live along its shores,” said Patty Ritchie, a senator in the New York state legislature whose electoral district covers communities along 100 miles of the U.S.-Canadian border.

Montreal says the discharge is needed while the city works on a major highway rehabilitation project that involves the installation a new snow chute used by Montreal snow-clearing trucks. To install the chute, the city says it must temporarily shut down part of Montreal’s sewage system and divert untreated sewage into the St. Lawrence.

Ottawa, under the previous Conservative government, briefly put a halt to the discharge, which was originally slated for mid-October.

Canada’s new Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said on Monday that she would allow the discharge if Montreal took steps to track the discharge and provide Ottawa with data and results of water-quality tests in affected areas.

“We did the best we could, given the particular situation,” said Ms. McKenna, who became environment minister last Wednesday. “I am not thrilled to be in this situation but the best you can do is look at the evidence and you make the best decision you can.”

An independent audit ordered by Canada’s environment ministry, released last week, indicated the risks associated with a planned discharge of sewage could be controlled. That audit also indicated the sewage infrastructure had deteriorated over the past five years.

Mr. Coderre said the city plans to improve its wastewater treatment facilities. That includes 72 million Canadian dollars (US$54.2 million) earmarked to expand treatment capacity to help reduce the risk of sewage discharge in the event of heavy rains, he said.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/montreal...day-1447182904