Catalyst Paper Corporation’s Powell River division shut down operations on Friday, January 27 after treated effluent leaked from a pipe.
Rick Maksymetz, general manager of the Powell River division, said the leak occurred in the line just before effluent is defused into Malaspina Strait. “The volume was a relatively small percentage, in terms of the total amount of volume in the effluent line,” he said. “It was a leak in one of the lines, not all of the effluent.”
Operations at the mill were shut down within a very short period of time after the leak was discovered, Maksymetz said. Shutting the mill down reduces the flow of effluent, he explained. “We’ve got to the point where we identified what the cause is. Now it’s just a matter of doing the repairs.”
While he wasn’t sure how long the mill would be down, Maksymetz said it wouldn’t be days. “It’s going to be maybe a couple of shifts,” he said.
The leak was discovered early Friday morning. The mill reported the leak to all the appropriate agencies, Maksymetz said, and no one was hurt. "The good news is we're not expecting it to freeze tonight, which could create issues with the mill down," he said. "The weather is on our side."
