Quebec approves pipeline project in the Laurentians

The Quebec government has authorized Énergir to build a 10-kilometre pipeline to supply "renewable natural gas" at the Waste Management technical landfill in Sainte-Sophie, Que. — a project many environmentalists are opposing.

The decree published in the Official Gazette on July 3 requires Énergir to comply with several environmental obligations, such as restoring wetlands and reforestation in Quebec's Laurentians region.

But environmental groups, including the Front commun québécois pour une gestion écologique des déchets (FCQGED), say the conditions lack teeth. 

"Too many elements have been put aside in this project for us to give the developers carte blanche," FCQGED president Denis Blaquière said in a news release published Wednesday. "This project was studied in isolation while several organizations are calling for a more general reflection on the place of natural gas in the necessary energy transition."

The government says it based its decision on an Environment Ministry analysis published on May 9, which found the project environmentally acceptable under certain conditions.

On April 19, the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE), Quebec's environmental review board, gave the project the green light. 

In its report, the BAPE says the project should be approved, despite the developer "overestimating" environmental benefits by failing to take into account WM's plans to use fossil fuels to run the facilities.

The BAPE has yet to study the complex, which is expected to start operating in 2025.

Depending on the route of the pipeline, the width of the 10-kilometre corridor the developer intends to build between Sainte-Sophie and Mirabel could extend between 80 metres and 180 metres. 

Paper mill in Saint-Jérôme at risk: Environmental groups

Climate advocacy groups argue that recent studies challenge the environmental friendliness of renewable natural gas, noting its non-carbon neutrality, rarity, high cost and environmental impacts.

They also disapprove of Énergir and WM's plans to divert renewable biogas from the Rolland paper mill in Saint-Jérôme, 13 kilometres southwest of Sainte-Sophie. 

In an open letter published on May 2, the groups warned that the mill might have to resume using fossil fuels because of the Énergir project, "which will greatly increase its GHG emissions, or will simply have to cease its operations, resulting in many job losses."