MINISTER APPROVES BEAR HEAD LNG EXPORT PROJECT . . . MUSHROOM PLANT CLOSING IN JUNE . . . SAFE FOOD FOR CANADIANS ACT CONSULTATIONS . . . WATER LOGGED: FIRM RECLAIMS TIMBER LOST TO MAINE’S FRIGID RIVERS . . . OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST...

MINISTER APPROVES BEAR HEAD LNG EXPORT PROJECT
Source: N.S. Dept. of Environment
Environment Minister Randy Delorey has granted environmental assessment approval to Bear Head LNG Corporation to resume developing the liquefied natural gas facility at Point Tupper, Richmond Co., to export natural gas. The approval includes 32 terms and conditions to address greenhouse-gas emissions, noise, and potential impacts to wildlife, water, wetlands, and transportation. The company must also have a community liaison committee that includes municipal, Mi’kmaq, and public representation. (read more)

MUSHROOM PLANT CLOSING IN JUNE
Source: Island Farmer
When she heard about the pending closure of Rol-Land Farms mushroom plant in Lower Freetown, Edith Ling was “so disappointed” both for the workforce and the lack of local options when it comes to purchasing mushrooms. “I have always made it a point to look for their mushrooms in the stores,” said the women’s district director of the National Farmers Union. The plant, which is owned by the Rol-Land Farm Group in Ontario, will cease operation June 19. The company has a workforce of 33 people. (read more)

SAFE FOOD FOR CANADIANS ACT CONSULTATIONS
Source: AARD
The CFIA is engaging more micro and small businesses across the country to take part in consultations on the Safe Food for Canadians Act until June 30, 2015. In 2013 and 2014, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) held extensive consultations with industry and other stakeholders on the new food framework. Some of those stakeholders have raised concerns over the ability of micro and small businesses to meet some of the requirements being considered in the Act. This consultation will help the CFIA better understand the food safety challenges and costs that micro and small businesses face, and to seek feedback on options that could reduce the burden associated with certain requirements. Additionally, the CFIA is also interested in hearing about the types of tools, guidance resources, and support these businesses need to produce safe and compliant food. (read more)

WATER LOGGED: FIRM RECLAIMS TIMBER LOST TO MAINE’S FRIGID RIVERS
Source: NPR
In the north woods of Maine, Tom Shafer is bumping along on a rutted trail in his four-wheel drive truck. Ahead are mounds of maple, pine, oak, and birch trees, all cut a century or more ago and pulled from the bottom of a lake. Clumped together in the muck, the logs wouldn't look like much to most people. “The wood comes out and it looks like that, in those piles of mud,” Shafer says “It looks like construction debris.” Before the nation had highways, loggers had to move cut timber by floating it down rivers. But not all logs made it down stream to saw mills. In Maine, millions of logs still lie below the cold currents of rivers and at the bottoms of lakes. (read more)