North Spur landslide stoking fears of Mud Lake, Happy Valley-Goose Bay residents

A weekend landslide on the northeast end of Muskrat Falls' North Spurin Labradorhas some residents of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Mud Lake concerned for theirsafety andwell-being.

• Nalcor says no damage to Muskrat Falls or North Spur dam following landslide

On Monday, the GrandRiverkeeper(GRK) and Labrador Land Protector(LLP) groups issued a joint statement condemningNalcor's response to the landslide at the Muskrat Falls site.

The North Spur sits on the lower Churchill River, and GRK spokesperson RobertaFramptonBenefiel says many livingdownstream worryif landslides continue, the dam could collapse, leading to widespread flooding.

In a releaseSunday, Nalcor saidthe landslide occurredoutside of the area of the North Spur that was stabilized for the construction of the Muskrat Falls dam and that significant work has been done by crews to reinforce the North Spur.

The company also stressed that there is no safety risk as a result of the incident. But Benefiel is not buying Nalcor's statement.

She said this erosion had already been predicted by Swedish scientistsDr. Stig Bernander and Dr. Lennart Elfgren, who have been working with theGRKandLLP.

"ForNalcorto say and for Stan Marshall to say we've had a hundred engineers look at this and they've all said [it's safe] ...well, who pays those engineers?"

"Are they willing to stand by their works when they fail? I suggest they probably wouldn't."

Benefieldoesn't fully trust Nacor's research, and she wants the provincial governmentto consider the input of her group's researchers.

She'd also like the company todo more reinforcement work on the North Spur.

Mud Lake residents stage motorcade protest

Residents of Mud Lake in particular are on edge, as the landslide triggered concerns that have only grown following last spring's major flood of the community.

Many in town still point fingers at Muskrat Falls as the culprit, despite an independent review determining the Muskrat Falls dam played no role in the flood.

A motorcade of at least 15 vehicles drove through Happy Valley in protest on Monday.

"We held an emergency meeting last night for the [Labrador Land Protectors] membership and people came and panicked," said Denise Cole, a member of the group.

"[They were]saying, 'I want to move out of my home.I want to move away from the community l lovebecause I can't live with this stress anymore.'"

She said the protest was held to rally supportfor the group's efforts.

Nalcormaintains that landslides along the Churchill River are relatively common, and that they pose no threat to the North Spuror the Muskrat Falls project.

Read the LLP and GRP joint statement below.