Correction: Federal officials outline rules on contamination

Mayor Frank Mackintosh said the rules include broader zones prohibiting shellfish harvesting when contamination is detected.

Part of the Annapolis Basin was closed again to shellfish harvesting June 17, and the beaches nearest Digby have been shut down since May 17 because of bacteriological contamination.

The town has hired four workers to monitor its sewage treatment plant on a 24 hour-a-day basis, an alternative to an electronic alarm system that Mackintosh said could cost as much as $300,000.

The alarm system would not prevent sewage spills but would simply send immediate notification to federal officials in Halifax.

Partial closures of the basin since May 17 have been blamed on a series of sewage spills from Digby, but Mackintosh has questioned whether federal officials have monitored sewage treatment facilities as far upstream as Greenwood.

Officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Environment Canada are to provide the town within two weeks a memorandum outlining federal guidelines dealing with contaminated waters.

Mackintosh said there is a belief that the more rigorous federal actions are a result of American marketplace pressure.

A CFIA official did say in a recent meeting with clam harvesters that the market and food safety are critical elements.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada advised June 17 that Zone 2 was closed for recreational or commercial purposes because of contamination.

A portion of the Annapolis Basin, which includes Thornes Cove, Karlsdale and Twin Cove harvesting areas and defined as east of a line drawn Moose River to a point near Port Wade, remained open for harvesting.

A spill from the town of Digby’s sewage was blamed for the initial closure May 17, when heavy rains overwhelmed the facility.