Wednesday, September 29, 2010

ENERGY: Alward to shelve Areva deal at Point Lepreau

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Generation: Premier-elect says he plans to put future nuclear plans with Areva on ice and concentrate on the ongoing completion of Point Lepreau power plant refurbishment

REBECCA PENTY
Telegraph-Journal

Premier-elect David Alward says he will put an agreement with nuclear firm Areva Canada Inc., to look at building a second reactor in the province, on the back burner when he takes the reins next month.

Toronto energy consultant Tom Adams said he believes the Areva deal was an attempt by the outgoing Liberal Premier Shawn Graham to direct attention away from a scrapped plan to sell NB Power assets to Hydro-Québec, which was originally met with public discontent.

Alward, who will be sworn in on Oct. 12, said Tuesday his focus will be on seeing a completion of the ongoing Point Lepreau nuclear power plant refurbishment, which continues to be mired in long delays.

"My priority is to get Point Lepreau up and running and Mr. Graham, perhaps at an opportune time, came out with the idea there could be a second nuclear plant in the province 10 to 15 years down the road," Alward said, a day after winning a large majority in the provincial election.

Areva, the New Brunswick government and NB Power announced in Saint John in early July that the French company - the world's largest nuclear vendor firm - would examine the feasibility of building a light-water nuclear reactor in the province by 2020, creating a clean energy park with other sources of power including natural gas cogeneration, wind, biomass and solar, as well investing in research and development.

The idea was that the private sector would finance the project and NB Power would operate the reactor.

But Alward later said the benefits would have to outweigh the risks for New Brunswickers and expressed concern there would be a request for government investment in the nuclear plant.

The Progressive Conservative leader said Tuesday he wants the existing plant at Point Lepreau back on the grid by February 2012 and that "other things will take care of themselves after."

Read the entire article here: http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/journal/article/1239378

Pre-operational environmental monitoring report for the Point Lepreau, N.B., nuclear generating station - 1981 (Canadian technical report of hydrography and ocean sciences)

AQUACULTURE: Illegal pesticide use probed in 4 N.B. aquaculture sites

Last Updated: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 CBC News

Environment Canada has launched four active investigations into the alleged illegal use of the pesticide Cypermethrin in the Bay of Fundy.

Last fall, federal government investigators found the chemical cypermethrin present in weak and dying lobsters in the Bay of Fundy.

Now, further inspections done over the past few months have turned up detectable levels of cypermethrin at two other aquaculture sites in southwest New Brunswick.

The chemical is illegal for marine use in Canada, but it's used in other countries to combat sea lice.
'We know it's toxic to all crustaceans and that's a problem not only for our fisheries but for the environment.'— Maria Recchia, Fundy North Fishermen's Association

The initial discovery of lobster kills in the Grand Manan and Deer Island areas late last year launched two investigations that are still ongoing.

Ever since, Environment Canada officials have been monitoring the Bay of Fundy through routine inspections and sample collections.

Between May and July, they found levels of cypermethrin in certain fish farms in Charlotte Country, which led to two new investigations into its alleged use.

Robert Robichaud, a district manager with the department's environmental enforcement branch, said government officials have issued a legal document known as "inspector's directions" to the two companies that own the affected sites.

"Those directions are quite specific by nature. And what they require is the immediate cease to use any illegal chemicals — in this case cypermethrin — and to prevent it from being used in the future," Robichaud said.

The companies are Northern Harvest Sea Farms and Ocean Legacy, both are based in L'Etang, N.B.

Neither company returned calls for an interview.

Concerns raised

Maria Recchia, an official with the Fundy North Fishermen's Association, said she's concerned by the latest results.

"We know it's toxic to all crustaceans and that's a problem not only for our fisheries but for the environment," Recchia said.

No charges have been laid to date and the investigations continue. Robichaud said a violation of the inspector's directions can result in a $200,000 fine.

This isn't the first time the pesticide has been found in the Bay of Fundy. In 1996, about 50,000 lobsters were found dead in a pound near St. George. Tests revealed they were exposed to cypermethrin.

Many people at the time blamed the aquaculture industries in the area for the pesticide getting into the water.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/09/29/nb-lobster-fundy-cypermethrin-557.html?ref=rss#ixzz10vEkN05u

More about Cypermethrin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypermethrin

Monday, September 27, 2010

EVENTS: Upcoming in St. Andrews

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More Events....
 
This Thursday  Sept 30th
The One, The Only, The Incredible 
Alan Gerber
 
 
Boogie Woogie Piano, A little bit of Fiddle
oh ... and throw in some Guitar as well !!
 
Alan is a high energy Performer
and has great Stories to tell
 
Join us first for a Conversation with Alan
 
Sunbury Shores Gallery  5pm - 6pm
 
THEN   at   8pm
in the Gallery
Alan Gerber in Concert
$15
----------------------------------------
 
Saturday Oct 2nd  7:00pm
GUESS WHO ?!
Sunbury Shores Fundraiser
(To Take Place Upstairs at The W.C. O'Neil Arena)
 
 
Your Chance to have a Chance to Purchase Art Donated by
An Incredible Range of Artists, Personalities and Folks Like ME!!
 
For info and details visit
 
Already We have pieces donated by the likes of :
 
Robert Bateman  (well known Canadaian Wildife Arist)
Jian Ghomeshi  (CBC Radio Host)
Natalie MacMaster (Multiple  Award Winning Fiddle Player)
Peter Powing (World renowned New Brunswick sculptor) 
 
Admission  $10 ...
You then have a chance to buy a piece of Art for $90.
 
------------------------------------------------------
 
October 4th  5pm - 7pm
at Sunbury Shores
 
Exhibit Opening
 
"Grand Manan 1930
The Photographs of George Daniell"
 
 
And Then Enjoy  A Concert with
 
Stephen Peacock  - Guitar
Nadia Frankovilla - Violin
 
Sunbury Shores Gallery
Admission $15
( Tickets available at Cockburn's or at the Door )

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Threatened Acadian dykes can't wait

Published on September 16th, 2010

amherstdaily.com


It was only a few years ago when the United Nations predicted rising sea levels could have a devastating impact on two areas of the globe, most notably New Orleans and the head of the Bay of Fundy around the border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. We have already seen what can happen in New Orleans, how long will it be before we find out here?
The dyke and aboiteau at Amherst Point are just one of several pieces of infrastructure protecting fertile marshlands from the Bay of Fundy and it's a situation repeated in communities sitting on the bay in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Considering the power of the water that flows through the bay twice a day it's only a matter of time before these dyke and aboiteaus, many of them constructed decades ago, begin to fail. Fortunately it hasn't happened yet. There has been some flooding, but it's only a matter of time before a major storm -_like a Saxby Gale - leads to the failure of the dykelands and brings about massive flooding wiping out key pieces of infrastructure such as the railway or the highway that runs between the two provinces.
This is not to say the province has been asleep at the switch. It's well aware of what's going on. The problem is finding the money required to bring about a long-term fix. It's something that could cost hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to fix properly and there's no guarantee the expertise available when the dykes were first built even exists today.
What needs to happen is a co-operative effort among all levels of government, including the federal government, to first find workable solutions and then come up with the money to fix them. This should not become a juridictional issue and it can no longer be a back burner issue because that next major storm may just be over the horizon. We can only hope it's not another New Orleans post-Katrina situation where the damage was done before people started asking questions.
Media credit: Acadian-cajun.com


New Highway 1 swath west of Kerr's Ridge

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These two interesting aerials just in from Tim Foulkes showing work between Johnston Lake and Bonaparte Lake.

He has also posted a video at YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bit1Miz7nR4

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

United States Coast Guard ignores Canadian rights in Internal waters.

US Coast Guard says Calais LNG site suitable for tanker traffic

Proposed Calais LNG Site. Tim Foulkes aerial
Washington (Platts)--22Sep2010/342 pm EDT/1942 GMT

The US Coast Guard has determined that waterways near the proposed Calais
LNG import terminal in Maine are suitable for LNG tanker traffic, the agency
said in a lengthy analysis sent to the US Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.

The "letter of recommendation" dated Tuesday is a key hurdle for the
company hoping to build a 1 Bcf/d facility with three storage tanks on the St.
Croix River and Passamaquoddy Bay.

The project faces opposition from the Canadian province of New Brunswick,
which asked FERC in February to reject the application because of waterway
safety concerns and promised to block LNG tankers from Canadian waters of the
Head Harbour Passage en route to the terminal. The province also opposes the
Downeast LNG project proposed for Robbinston, Maine.

Art Gelber, development manager of Calais LNG, said Tuesday that the
Coast Guard finding should dismiss New Brunswick's challenge.

"From our point of view, the way the Coast Guard handled this, they were
respectful of the Canadians but they essentially said, 'This is an American
port. We have the right of innocent passage. Those ships can come through the
waterway,'" Gelber said.

In an 88-page report, the agency validated the project's "waterway
suitability assessment" after consultation with the company, the Port for
Northern New England, community groups, and state and local emergency
responders.

"We are pleased with the cooperation of our port partners who have
provided their candor and expertise to the review process," James McPherson,
Coast Guard Captain of the Port, said in a statement. "We will continue to
work with the community and our fellow emergency responders to ensure that
appropriate measures are taken to assure the safety and security of the port
and surrounding communities."

The approval comes after a string of bad news for the project. In July,
managing member GS Power Holdings, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Group,
announced it wanted to sell its interest.

The developer has since asked the Maine Board of Environmental Protection
to delay considering its application while it attempts to salvage the deal.
The state said last week that it would give Calais LNG until December 1 to
sort out the financing for the estimated $900 million to $1 billion project.

Gelber said the company is in talks with two potential investors.

--Meghan Gordon, meghan_gordon@platts.com