NEWS RELEASE

Volpé confirms no money in budget for River
Delays in completing EIA could push back river opening by 2-years

(Moncton – April 19, 2006) – Contrary to indications received from the Province last fall and earlier in March during the pre-budget consultations, the Province of New Brunswick has now confirmed that no money is currently budgeted for the restoration of the Petitcodiac River in 2006-2007. Delays in completing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the future of the river are again cited as the reason for this decision. A letter confirming this news was sent to Petitcodiac Riverkeeper this week from Minister Volpé's office.

As the owner of the structure, New Brunswick is legally responsible for resolving the obstruction to fish passage caused by the Petitcodiac causeway. Recommendations contained in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report released last October clearly demonstrate that the province needs to open the causeway in order to meet its statutory obligations under the Fisheries Act.

The river study recommends opening the causeway through a three-phase approach. Phase 1 of the project, scheduled to begin this summer at an estimated cost of $20 million, consists of rebuilding the dike system in the headpond, building erosion protection measures along various locations of the river, solving the flood problem at the causeway traffic circle and protecting the former Moncton landfill from a potential “100-year flood event”. Phase 1 also includes developing a monitoring program that will be carried out throughout the 5-year implementation period of the restoration project. 

Phase 2 involves the permanent opening of the causeway gates for a period of two years. It was originally scheduled to begin as early as the fall of 2006 or the spring of 2007. Phase 3 of the project will see the construction of a partial bridge downstream from the gate structure and the removal of a 200-300 metre long section of the causeway to create a wider opening for the future river.

Recently, Premier Lord has come out to claim that the Petitcodiac causeway problem is primarily of federal jurisdiction, an indication perhaps that the Province is unwilling to recognize its full responsibility and liability in resolving the issue. “The federal Fisheries Act is very clear on this point,” reminds Petitcodiac Riverkeeper Daniel LeBlanc. “The owner of the structure that violates the law is solely responsible for fixing the problem”.

The Province’s contention with the federal government on the issues seems to be stemming from the fact that the feds gave New Brunswick two-thirds of the funding to build the causeway in the mid-1960’s. The federal government of the day also issued a fish passage permit for the causeway, on the condition that it allow the “safe and unimpeded movement of fish” at the structure. In 2001, when former Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Herb Dhaliwal accepted the Niles Report, the Minister declared the causeway illegal and informed the Province that it needed to find a permanent solution to resolve the fish passage issue.

The Province’s decision not to allocate any funding for this project in 2006 could delay the long awaited opening of the gates by up to two more years. Petitcodiac Riverkeeper has requested an urgent meeting with the Premier to clarify the Province’s intentions with regards to the River.

– 30 –

INFORMATION :

Daniel LeBlanc
Tel. (506) 388-5337
www.petitcodiac.org