SAINT JOHN, New Brunswick – An NB Power proposal to burn a tarlike fuel at one of its generating stations could result in an environmental nightmare, says an environmentalist.

David Thompson, a director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said Wednesday that converting the Coleson Cove generating station to Orimulsion fuel is “dirty and unacceptable.”

“It’s also completely unnecessary,” he said. “We should be moving from these oil-burning and nuclear technologies and going with natural gas and renewable energy.”

The New Brunswick Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities announced Wednesday it will hold public hearings on NB Power’s application to convert Coleson Cove to Orimulsion from oil, and extend the life of the Lepreau nuclear power station.

The preliminary hearings, to begin April 17 in Saint John, are a means of gauging public sentiment before full public hearings.

Orimulsion, a cheap fossil fuel made of bitumen and water, would be shipped in by tanker from Venezuela. It’s a thick, heavy, tarlike fuel that could severely pollute the fast-churning waters of the Bay of Fundy, Thompson warned.

“If there was a spill, a hose break near the plant, a tanker accident, you name it, there would be no technology in place to clean up this stuff,” he said. “It’s not like regular oil that floats on the surface. It sinks.”

A spokesman with NB Power couldn’t be reached for comment.

Thompson said NB Power wants to switch to Orimulsion at Coleson Cove so it can pump out more energy at a cheaper cost while Point Lepreau is being shut down for refurbishment – a project expected to take anywhere from two to five years.

He said a switch to Orimulsion would also add to the world’s greenhouse gas problem.

Thompson believes Coleson Cove’s three generators should be converted to burn natural gas.

“NB Power seems to be stuck in this ‘1960s and ’70s-era mentality of engineering,” he said. “They have done nothing to reduce greenhouse gases. They have no plans for renewable resource projects within the foreseeable future.”