The new natural gas and diesel power plants that are on the horizon for Pictou County will not draw or discharge water at an industrial scale, the grid operator has decided.

The shift to a so-called dry system comes 10 months after plans for two gas-fired plants were made public. The proposals swiftly drew criticism from locals and organizations who highlighted potential negative environmental impacts. 

Among their concerns were that aquifers that feed residential wells would be drained, and that…