Montreal to dump eight billion litres of raw sewage in St Lawrence River

Canada's Environment Minister said: 'The situation is less than ideal'

Environmental groups argue there must be a way for the city to dispose of its sewage with no potential harm to human health and wildlife ( Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Montreal has approved plans to dump eight billion litres of raw sewage into a major river running through the city, despite contention from environmental groups.

Canada's new Environment Minister, Catherine McKenna, said she is asking the city to implement several measures before dumping the waste, such as monitoring the discharge to improve emergency clear-up plans.

The discharge is set to begin as soon as the conditions are met and must be completed by 5 December.

Montreal Mayor, Denis Coderre, said the dump is necessary as the city must temporarily close a large sewer feeding sewage to a treatment facility.

Mr Coderre said the city had no problem with the conditions, will meet them quickly and begin releasing the sewage in a matter of days, the Montreal Gazette reported.

US Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, has asked US environmental regulators to work with Canada to stop the discharge, however the EPA said it does not hold regulatory authority in Canada.

Mr Schumer added the river should be viewed as a single eco-system, as fish, birds and boats move upstream and downstream.

He also highlighted that the US and Canada have worked together previously to protect the region’s waters in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Montreal planned to start dumping the sewage last month, in order for workers to relocate a snow chute – a large opening bringing water from melting snow to a wastewater treatment plant.

Ms McKenna said: “We have added conditions. The situation is less than ideal. I’m not thrilled by this situation.”

A public petition with 90,000 names opposed to the project was presented to Mr Coerre last month.

The environmental group Save the River argue there must be a way for the city to dispose of its sewage that will not be potentially harmful to human health and wildlife.

According to Save the River’s website, a scientific panel reviewing the Montreal sewage dump said: “The city should only proceed with the release once steps are taken to better understand mitigate the environmental impacts.”

The panel had various queries about the plan, according to CBC News, including there being gaps in the information about the environmental effects of the sewage dump and the need to address them in public.”

The St Lawrence River flows from Lake Ontario northeast into the Gulf of Lawrence and borders the US for 114 miles in New York State.

Additional reporting by Associated Press