{"id":650877,"date":"2026-05-06T05:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T05:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/650877\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T05:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T05:18:12","slug":"conflicting-views-about-water-protection-heard-as-mlas-review-clean-water-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/650877\/","title":{"rendered":"Conflicting views about water protection heard as MLAs review Clean Water Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

A review of New Brunswick’s Clean Water Act began Tuesday with forestry representatives in support of its current form, and others calling for stronger protections.<\/p>\n

The review of the 37-year-old law is one of two promised by the Susan Holt government, coming after a similar review into the Clean Air Act by the legislature’s environmental stewardship committee in the fall.<\/p>\n

Holt’s election platform included a promise to “guarantee that everyone in New Brunswick has the right to clean air and water” by updating both clean air and water laws.<\/p>\n

But during the earlier clean air review, J.D. Irving Ltd. representatives warned that overly strict environmental protections could come with an economic cost<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WATCH | \u2018Water is arguably our most valuable resource\u2019:\"\"<\/p>\n

Legislative committee begins review of Clean Water Act<\/p>\n

Experts, advocates and industry weigh in on changes that would guarantee the right to clean water in New Brunswick<\/p>\n

J.D. Irving was also part of Tuesday’s hearing about clean water. Jason Limongelli, vice-president woodlands, calling for the act to remain the same. <\/p>\n

“Generally speaking, OK, if it’s working well in that regard, don’t change something that’s doing well and doing what’s intended,” Limongelli said to reporters after the hearing.<\/p>\n

But Richelle Martin, a lawyer with East Coast Environmental Law, appeared at the hearing to propose 11 ways to strengthen the act.<\/p>\n

“Water is arguably our most valuable resource,” she said. “It’s vital to all life, yet there’s currently no legal right to clean water in New Brunswick.”<\/p>\n

\"ARichelle Martin, a lawyer with East Coast Environmental Law, says the review is an opportunity for government to follow through on its election promise. (Tara King-Stewart\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“This can result in unequal access to water and clean water.”<\/p>\n

Martin noted that in northern New Brunswck, Charlo’s municipal water supply<\/a> was found to have high levels of pre- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or\u00a0PFAS \u2014 chemicals that don’t break down easily but can cause health problems.<\/p>\n

“I think the government is taking steps to address that,” Martin said. “But if they weren’t, and they didn’t have a right, then they could be left with no remedies in that case.<\/p>\n

“So having legally protected rights is really crucial for something that’s so vital as clean water is.”<\/p>\n

\"AJason Limongelli, J.D. Irving Ltd. vice-president woodlands, says the act is functioning well as it is. (Tara King-Stewart\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Limongelli said J.D. Irving doesn’t have a formal position on legislating a right to clean water, but questioned whether the move is necessary.<\/p>\n

“We take it extremely seriously, in terms of our operations,” Limongelli told reporters.<\/p>\n

“Whether someone wants to make that a right. I think that it is our right to have clean water or clean air. Does it change anything as a law? I\u2019m not sure.” <\/p>\n

Asked about the impacts such a change would have on the company, Limongelli said he would have to see the legislation and evaluate it.<\/p>\n

Waterway buffers as protected areas<\/p>\n

The committee also heard discussion on whether the government should designate currently required buffer zones around waterways as protected areas.<\/p>\n

Under the current rules, forestry companies must leave a 30-metre buffer between operations and waterways, but some selective harvesting is allowed within the first 15 metres.<\/p>\n

Speaking in committee, Natural Resources Minister John Herron questioned whether those buffer zones should count toward the provincial target to increase its conservation lands from 10 to 15 per cent.<\/p>\n

Herron asked witnesses to weigh in on the idea, which he said had been raised by department staff.<\/p>\n

It’s also been raised by Andrew Willet, J.D. Irving’s director of sustainability and Indigenous relations, as part of a since-shelved proposal to log conservation lands<\/a> in exchange for protecting areas with social or tourism value.<\/p>\n

\"AGreen Party MLA Megan Mitton, a member of the committee, says protected-area designation should be guided by ecosystems rather than buffer zones. (Tara King-Stewart\/CBC)<\/p>\n

While Martin was unsure whether buffers should count toward conservation targets, J.D. Irving representatives supported the idea. <\/p>\n

Limongelli said the move would benefit J.D. Irving in a “reputational” sense, because it would alleviate public concerns about the company operating near wetlands. <\/p>\n

“It’s a win for the citizens \u2026 who will feel more comfortable with the whole thing, and it’s a win for us,” he said in an interview.<\/p>\n

But Green Oarty MLA Megan Mitton, who sits on the committee, said the priority should be to expand protected areas based on ecosystems.<\/p>\n

“I’m concerned about designating [buffer zones] as protected areas, when they’re really just small riparian zones along the water,” she said. <\/p>\n

“It’s not considering where the animals need to move \u2026 30 metres is not very big, in terms of habitat.”<\/p>\n

Herron was not available for an interview on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-650877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}