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IMPORTANT CALL TO ACTION - SAVE LORNEVILLE


As the rezoning for the new Lorneville Heavy Industrial Park has now passed second reading at Saint John City Council, there is now intense pressure at the provincial level to push through the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that we put even more pressure on the province to protect this valuable ecosystem and protect the community of Lorneville.


📢We need everyone, NOW, to email or call the officials below to voice your concerns about:


  • The substandard EIA

  • The proposed destruction of wetlands, old-growth forest, and an extremely unique ecosystem, parts of which have remained untouched for 400 years

  • The substantial and unaddressed risks to the Lorneville community.


Contacts to voice your concern at the Provincial level are listed below. Details of some of the primary EIA concerns are also listed below. You can voice one or more of the listed concerns, voice your own concern (there are many!), or simply say you are against the proposed development and destruction of a high-value ecosystem.


The EIA documents are available here:


List of EIA and Development Concerns (Add your own concerns in the comments!):

  • An old-growth forest containing trees as old as 400 years will be destroyed. Old growth forest is of extremely high ecological value, has exceedingly scarce in New Brunswick, and must be conserved.


See preliminary lab results of Ben Phillips here:

  • The EIA characterises this forest as “of low ecological and economic value”, a forest that contains some of the oldest trees in the province.

  • Hundreds of acres of high-functioning wetland will be infilled and destroyed.

  • The 15-meter watercourse buffer is well below provincial and global standards and will effectively reduce kilometers of watercourses to drainage ditches. These watercourses are the lifeblood of the local ecosystem and community of Lorneville.

  • The health of provincially significant wetlands (salt marshes) in Lorneville will be compromised with the destruction of upstream wetland and reduced watercourse buffer.

  • The EIA only covers ~25% of the proposed industrial park area (420 acres of the 1591 acres to be rezoned to heavy industry). The boundaries of the EIA assessment area are highly arbitrary and cut right through the middle of forest and wetland. Clearcutting at these arbitrary boundaries will destroy the ecosystem beyond the EIA area.

  • This fragmented, piecemeal approach of the EIA downplays the ecological importance of the area and the impacts of its destruction on the greater ecosystem and our community.

  • The treed buffer of 150 meters between residential and industry is highly insufficient given the high-risk land use scenario, where homes and water wells lie down-gradient of the proposed heavy industrial park. This proposed land use and buffer violates modern national and international best-practices.

  • The high-risk scenario of infilling hundreds of acres of wetland upgradient of groundwater wells poses a public health risk.

  • Clearcutting at the 150-meter buffer from residential will fragment wetland and compromise the long-term health of the trees within this buffer. The long-term sustainability of this buffer is highly questionable.

  • The soil conditions in the proposed development area – loose soil over clay over rock – are highly conducive to ground vibrations produced by heavy machinery. Vibrations generated during land clearing and gravel pad construction may travel through clay and bedrock, causing structural damage to private wells and alerting groundwater flow patterns.

  • There is as complete absence of multi-seasonal bird survey, wildlife, and vegetation survey, highly concerning given the old-growth forest, wetland, and likelihood of this area as a critical habitat for a diverse array of at-risk animal species and rare plants and lichen.


Letter Example (Copy & Paste):

Subject: Urgent Appeal to Intervene in Spruce Lake Industrial Park Expansion Due to Critical Environmental and Procedural Failures

To Dillon Consulting,

The Government of New Brunswick,

Ministry of Environment and Climate Change,

and Honourable Premier Susan Holt,


I write to demand immediate provincial intervention in the Saint John City Council's approved expansion of the Spruce Lake Industrial Park. The unanimous decision to rezone 1,591 acres of Lorneville land for heavy industry ignores catastrophic ecological risks and violates fundamental environmental safeguards. Below, I detail the project’s critical flaws, supported by evidence and expert analysis:


1. Irreversible Destruction of Ecologically Vital Land

  • Ancient Forest Elimination: The project will clear an old-growth forest with trees up to 400 years old—a vanishing ecosystem of "extremely high ecological value" in New Brunswick. Preliminary lab results by Ben Phillips confirm its unique biodiversity1. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) falsely dismisses this forest as "low value," contradicting ecological reality.

  • Wetland Annihilation: Hundreds of acres of high-functioning wetlands will be infilled, directly compromising provincially significant salt marshes in Lorneville. This violates Canada’s commitment to wetland conservation under the Ramsar Convention1.

2. Scientifically Deficient Environmental Assessment

  • Inadequate Watercourse Buffers: A mere 15-meter buffer is proposed, far below provincial and global standards. This will degrade kilometres of watercourses into drainage ditches, threatening groundwater and local ecosystems1.

  • Arbitrary EIA Boundaries: The assessment covers only 25% (420 acres) of the rezoned land, with boundaries slicing through intact forest and wetland. This fragmented approach deliberately underestimates cumulative ecological damage1.

  • Incomplete Ecological Surveys: The EIA lacks multi-seasonal studies on birds, wildlife, vegetation, and at-risk species—unacceptable for an area confirmed as critical habitat1.

3. Public Health and Safety Risks

  • Insufficient Residential Buffers: A 150-meter buffer between heavy industry and homes is dangerously inadequate. Homes and water wells lie down-gradient, creating high-risk scenarios for chemical contamination1.

  • Groundwater Vulnerability: Infilling wetlands upgradient of residential wells risks aquifer pollution. Soil composition (loose soil over clay bedrock) amplifies vibration damage from machinery, threatening well integrity and groundwater flow1.

4. Violations of Best Practices and Transparency

  • The project ignores modern industrial zoning standards, including the New Brunswick Clean Air Act and international best practices for high-risk land use1.

  • Public concerns—voiced through hearings—were systematically dismissed, undermining democratic accountability.


Call to Action

I urge the provincial government to:

  1. Halt all development pending an independent, full-scope EIA of the entire 1,591-acre site.

  2. Enforce 30-meter watercourse buffers and 500-meter residential-industrial separation, aligning with global standards.

  3. Mandate comprehensive wildlife and soil impact studies across all seasons.

  4. Investigate the EIA’s scientific integrity and its dismissal of old-growth forest value.


The Spruce Lake expansion epitomises environmental negligence. Provincial intervention is not just warranted—it is a legal and ethical imperative to protect Lorneville’s ecosystems, water security, and residents.

Respectfully submitted,

[Your Name]

[Contact Information]


Attachments:

  • Preliminary lab analysis by Ben Phillips: Link

  • Full list of community-documented concerns (available upon request)



List of Contacts:

Gilles LePage – Minister of Environment and Climate Change

(Gilles.LePage@gnb.ca, 506-753-2222)

Charbel Awad – Deputy Minister of Environment and Local Government (charbel.awad@gnb.ca, 506-453-3256)

Christie Ward – Assistant Deputy Minister - Environment and Local Government (christie.ward@gnb.ca, 506-453-2390)

Courtney Johnson - EIA Specialist for NB DELG

(Courtney.Johnson@gnb.ca; 506-444-5382)

Crystale Harty – Director of GNB EIA Branch

(Crystale.Harty@gnb.ca; 506-444-5382)

Kristen Banks - Dillon Consulting

(KBanks@dillon.ca; 506-444-9717)

Susan Holt - Premier

(premier@gnb.ca, 506-453-2144)

John Herron - Minister of Natural Resources

(John.Herron@gnb.ca, 506-566-2413)


All contacts can be emailed at once – just copy and paste the email list below


Comments


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