For years, citizens of the town of Beaurivage, NB, have complained about odors coming from the Coastal Shell Products plant.
Crystal Desharnais, from Crystal’s Emporium Thrift
“It’s a horrible smell. People can’t even faint and do fundamental things like barbecue and have fun. There are so many seniors in this community. Their quality of life is surely destroyed,” Desharnais said.
An imaginable solution may be underway.
In a statement to CTV News, Coastal Shell Products CEO Jamie Goguen said the company is preparing the financing so it can be dedicated to an initial capital investment allocation worth approximately $2 million, designed for the effective control of emissions from the facility.
The Kent Clean Air Action Committee (KCAAC) fought to have the plant shut down or moved.
In a press release sent Monday, the KCAAC says it received a document through the Right to Information and Privacy Protection Act stating that Coastal Shell Products is a significant investment by provincial and federal governments to take steps to help mitigate odor and construction. Increase productivity.
The committee notes that the company has submitted a three-phase allocation plan to the Department of Environment and Local Government (DELG) for an estimated total amount of approximately $2. 7 million.
The projects target odors from the shell drying process, as well as odors within the raw product facility and receiving area, and increase productivity and distribute the products to a wider market.
According to the committee, the percentage of the investment would come from the province, Opportunities New Brunswick (ONB) and the Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency (ACOA), with Coastal Shell Products taking the remaining 25, according to the percentage.
KCAAC spokeswoman Maisie McNaughton doesn’t understand why the taxpayer can be at fault for three-quarters of the bill.
“I don’t even have words. I don’t understand why me as a taxpayer and the other people of Beaurivage and New Brunswick as a total and Canada as a total payment to maintain this nightmare,” McNaughton said.
Coastal Shell Products processes crustacean shells and converts them into a variety of products as fertilizers.
Goguen said that as part of Coastal Shell Products’ approval cases to operate from the DELG, the company has provided detailed main points on a number of projects that will address public concerns.
CTV News asked Goguen if the company ever applied for federal or provincial funds.
“We are in discussions with any level of government about those projects to see if they might be available,” Goguen said.
An ONB spokesman said it had provided monetary assistance to Coastal Shell Products and had no active investment agreement with them.
ACOA gave a response, stating that the company had no plans with Coastal Shell Products.
Desharnais doesn’t like asking for government funding, which says there’s no guarantee a new allocation will prevent the stench.
“Whether this only prolongs the challenge or solves it, it’s clear. For me, that money would be spent more on helping relocate them,” Desharnais said.
Kent North MP Kevin Arseneau said he had been told since 2018 that the company would fix the smell.
“I lost religion in its ability to locate the displayed generation and fund it,” Arseneau said in an email to CTV News. “That said, I still say that the plant is not located in a proper domain and deserves to be moved. “. That would be the most productive thing for citizens and the well-being of the community.
The province has won 455 court cases over the smell so this year.
The exterior of the coastal seafood mill near Beaurivage, New Brunswick. (Short: Derek Haggett)
Goguen said Coastal Shell Products has listened to the considerations and is committed to addressing them appropriately.
“It is known that extensive testing and research has been carried out and that the design of a new formula is progressing well. Coastal Shell will continue to work with the Ministry of Environment to comply with all needs and regulations,” Goguen said in the statement. .
He went on to say that the company is one of the leading in the province’s seafood processing industry.
“Our paints divert remedy waste from landfills and create value-added products that consumers and industry seek,” Goguen said. “Our paints support ten processing services in New Brunswick that, without Coastal Shell, would struggle to find disposing of their processed shells.
The purpose is to work with the network paintings towards a “harmonious solution” that he faces lately.
DELG spokeswoman Heather Pert said it continues to monitor odors at remedy facilities through common site visits and odor investigations.
Pert said the ministry had asked the company to submit an odour plan, with timelines, for installing new odour equipment.
The approval of the restriction of the operating hours that prevents the operation of the plant between 8:00 a. m. y 8:00 p. m.
Approval expires July 31.