February 26, 2001

Beaver Lake Preservation Association
Tamworth/Erinsville, Ontario

Letter to the Editor:

The time has come for provincial authorities to take action on land use.

We need land use laws in Ontario, before Eastern Ontario becomes an acute a problem as Southern and Southwestern Ontario. We have municipalities passing very stringent bylaws to controlling farming operations, especially manure problems.

We also know they are doing their best to prevent pollution. This is a provincial issue. Action needs to be taken immediately or the very important tourist industry in our area is in serious jeopardy.

Factory farms are not family farms - they are an industry run by companies that are interested in money, not the people in the community.

If the plan for Mr. Slack's farm goes ahead, barns holding who knows how many sows would be located on the highest point of land in the area on property with streams and creeks running from it to Beaver Lake.

The manure would flow right into the lake. Our fear is a repeat of the situation in Southwestern Ontario where beaches in Lake Huron have been closed and drinking water has been contaminated because of run-off from hog and cattle farms.

We have seen this first hand - the stench was unbelievable. The odour doesn't go away, it gets into your clothes and on your skin. No one should have to live like that.

Spills from burst or over-flowing manure lagoons at farms have killed thousands of fish and have been found to be leaking enough to pollute local drinking water.

Lagoons containing thousands of litres of manure are an envirnomental disaster waiting to happen.

We ask you Mr. Slack - Do you want to chance this happening to the people in this community? We hope not. There are other areas where intensive farms are quite suitable. Not here in this community.

Pat and Robert Long