Rutland Herald

OMYA expansion suffers setback in Canada

February 25, 2002
By BRUCE EDWARDS Herald Staff

A Canadian environmental board has severely curtailed OMYA's ability to withdraw water for its calcium carbonate plant in Perth, Ontario.

Ontario's Environmental Review Tribunal limited OMYA's withdrawal from the Tay River to 1.5 million liters a day until 2008 when OMYA will have to apply for a new permit, the tribunal said in a ruling that was issued last week.

Ontario's Ministry of the Environment issued a two-phase permit to OMYA Canada Inc. in August 2000, allowing the company to withdraw 1.5 million liters a day from the Tay through 2003. In 2004, the permit increased the withdrawal to 4.5 million liters a day.

However, concerned citizens and a citizens' watchdog group filed an appeal with the Environmental Review Tribunal alleging that the water withdrawal allowed under the permit would damage the small Tay River, especially during dry periods.

Landowners in the vicinity of OMYA's marble quarry also complained that increased production at the plant would result in an unacceptable increase in trucks hauling marble ore. Concerns also were raised that the bulk water withdrawal could fall under the jurisdiction of the North American Free Trade Agreement, setting a dangerous precedent.

James Reddy, president of OMYA Industries Inc., the Canadian subsidiary's parent company in Proctor, called the decision disappointing. Reddy said the company was reviewing the 85-page ruling before deciding whether to file an appeal.

Reddy said the company could live within the 1.5 million-liter limit in the short term. He said, however, that OMYA had invested "several hundred million (U.S.) dollars" in the plant with the expectation that the plant would have access to enough water in the future to meet demand for its slurry product.

"We want to expand it more and we needed the assurance of a reasonable supply of water so that we can continue to expand and grow," Reddy said. "You can't make investment decisions unless you have your raw materials and water is the raw material for that plant."

Although opponents did not get everything they wanted, OMYA opponent Michael Cassidy, who owns a second home near the quarry, expressed satisfaction with the decision.

"I think OMYA went in looking for a very large amount of water from the Tay River and they wound up getting a third of what they'd been looking for, along with a number of conditions," Cassidy said.

And while concern over OMYA's truck traffic was not taken up by the tribunal, Cassidy said that issue is now being addressed locally.

The Council of Canadians, a citizens' watchdog group, had warned that the water-taking permit could set a precedent under NAFTA. If OMYA is allowed to withdraw bulk amounts of water for export (in slurry form), the group argued that Canada could be forced to grant water permits to other multinational companies. If denied, those companies could sue Canada for damages under Chapter 11 of NAFTA, the Council of Canadians argued.

In its decision, however,the tribunal rejected the NAFTA argument stating that water in slurry form does not constitute a bulk water export.

Headquartered in Switzerland, OMYA AG (formerly Pluess-Staufer) is a privately held industrial minerals, chemicals and pharmaceuticals company.

Contact Bruce Edwards at bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com