A week after being informed by Quebec of the new requirements related to air emissions of toxic elements, the Horne Foundry in Rouyn-Noranda is asking for more time to submit its comments and change requests, citing the complexity of the government proposal.
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“The proposed permit is much more complex than the previous one, filed in November 2017. […] Our teams are working hard to conduct a thorough analysis of the draft permit, which includes terms that are likely to have a critical impact on the future of the foundry,” the company said in a press release sent to the media on Friday morning.
Horne Foundry, owned by multinational company Glencore, intends to continue to give its opinion within the “deadline”, ie within three weeks under the provisions of the Environmental Quality Respect Act, including extensions.
Keep in mind that the Horne Foundry has been in the headlines for almost a year for its heavy metal fumes, particularly arsenic. The company, which has existed since 1927, is permitted to emit up to 100 nanograms of arsenic per cubic meter of air with the license that has been in force since 2017.
Last year the government said it wanted to cap it at 15 ng/m3, while the Quebec standard is 3 ng/m3. For its part, the foundry proposed investing nearly $500 million to achieve this goal within five years. Last week, Environment Minister Benoit Charrette commented on the proposal to renew the Abitibi foundry’s ministerial certificate, stating that it will be more restrictive than what the company had proposed last year. “There are metals that have not been included in the previous certificates, which will be the case now,” the minister said at a press conference. There are several other measures that have been added.”