Meeting on Muskrat Falls mercury levels aims for common ground

Officials and experts from Nalcor, theNunatsiavut Governmentand Harvard University are set to sit down at the end of March to discuss the varying research surrounding what methyl mercury levels could potentially result from the Muskrat Falls dam.

• Mercury levels from Muskrat Falls pose threat, says environmental panelist

"Right now we have a divide, and so I'm proposing this forum of bringing everyone together in the room to explore this information," Minister of Environment and Conservation PerryTrimpertoldCBC'sLabrador Morning.

Researchers with Harvard University have said that mercury levels in Lake Melville could rise anywhere from 25 to 200 per cent from flooding due to the hydroelectric project, while Nalcor has countered there could be no detectable change.

On MondayTrimper, who is also the MHA for LakeMelville. along withprovincial experts, met with university researchers andNunatsiavutofficials to discuss their concerns.Nalcorwas not involved.

'Get to the bottom of this'

Trimperacknowledged there is some animosity and controversy surrounding the varying mercuryresearch.

"There is no question there is a difference of opinion, it's very strong. [But] there is a lot of good science, Iwould suggest, being done on both sides," said Trimper.

Trimper said the meeting, taking place nearthe end of March in St. John's, will look for common ground, based in fact.

I want everybody there, and make sure we can get to the bottom of this.- Perry Trimper

"We hope to have both sides of this issue in the room, with their technical experts," said Trimper.

"Iwant everybody there, and make sure we can get to the bottom ofthis."

Trimper said figuring out what exactly will or will not happen in Lake Melville will take everyone's input.

"We're trying to anticipate what the future looks like. And to do that, you use some complicated modelling," said Trimper.

"The researchers need to agree on each of these steps, and there's a series of them, to get to that conclusion."