Greenspace Alliance of Canada's CapitalLeitrim: Application for 10-year permit to drain water filed
On July 11, 2008, a proposal to pump up to 17 million litres per day from the Leitrim Wetland area was posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights web site (EBR # 010-4134). This permit would be good for ten years. The comment period was to end on August 10 but an extension to September 5 was granted because the Ministry was late in providing the supporting documents.
Here are the supporting documents:
Application documents, including a Report on an Hydrogeological Evaluation (2.0 MB)
Groundwater Monitoring Report submitted to the Technical Advisory Committee (8.8 MB)
Three comments were submitted:
Comments by the Alliance and the Sierra Club (via our counsel at the Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic), including a review by Dr. Fred Michel (448 KB) of the Hydrogeological Evaluation and the Groundwater Monitoring report.
Comments by Albert Dugal
Comments by Dr. Meg Sears
On September 16, an amended proposal was posted (EBR # 010-4670), for reasons explained in two additional letters from the developers' consultant:
Letter of August 29, 2008 (1.8 MB)
Letter of September 12, 2008 (613 KB)
The revised application is for surface water diversion of up to 13 million litres per day for ten years. This is in addition to the 17 million litres per day by pumping out groundwater.
Comments on the revised proposal were invited until October 16, 2008.
The Friends of Leitrim issued an Action Alert to encourage concerned citizens to write.
The Alliance and Sierra Club filed these comments (337 KB), including a second report by Dr. Fred Michel and a report by Dr. G. Clarke Topp.
In light of the revised Statement of Environmental Values for the Ministry, posted on the EBR web site on October 30, a further comment was sent in, stressing the need for a rehabilitation plan.
Friends of Leitrim always prepared to discuss
(Temporary message to make the previous Comment appear on the list of recent comments.)
Friends of Leitrim meet provincial officials
On March 9, 2009, at the invitation of Peter Taylor, the Ministry of Environment official responsible for issuing Permits To Take Water at Leitrim, some of the Friends of Leitrim Wetland met with him and several of his colleagues at MOE. Officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the South Nation Conservation Authority and Fisheries and Oceans also attended.
The Friends presented a list of thirteen objectives they want to see achieved before further Permits are issued. The key points were that a proper study needs to be undertaken of the hydrogeology of the area; and a rehabilitation plan needs to be drawn up to repair the damage that has been inflicted on the wetland from a ditch dug in 1988-89 and since construction started in 2003.
Earlier, on February 4, we had conveyed to MOE a list of 24 data sets or studies regarding the hydrogeology which were not in our posession. The consultant appears not prepared to share the data.
The meeting also dealt with a monitoring plan proposed by the developers' consultant that had been discussed with the provincial officials at a meeting two weeks earlier. (The Friends were not allowed an observer at that meeting. Two representatives of the consultant observed our meeting on March 9.) Mr. Taylor sent us the proposal a week later. (Attached to the plan are two figures: 1 : 431 KB on ground- and surface water monitoring and 2 : 415 KB on vegetation monitoring.) The provincial officials briefly presented and appeared to agree with the plan as proposed. (Update: Click here for the final monitoring program - 859 KB, part of the Permit issued on April 27, 2009.)
Dr. G. Clarke Topp attended the meeting of March 9 and intervened from time to time during the discussion -- he had prepared a few comments on the monitoring plan and found weaknesses similar to previous submissions -- and earlier during the discussion of the Friends' list. Likewise, Dr. Meg Sears, Albert Dugal and Sol Shuster intervened, as did our counsel, Linda McCaffrey. I had the easy task of speaking from prepared notes in conveying our main points.
The timeframe of Mr. Taylor's decision on two permit applications before him is uncertain.
Preparing for this opportunity required team work which also included Iola Price and Cheryl Doran, and the Friends delivered in spades. Thanks to all!
Erwin Dreessen
10 March 2009