Queen's Park panned over factory-farm plan

Saturday, March 10, 2001

Group persuades council to seek independent review

By Graeme McDonald
STONE MILLS/For The Whig-Standard

A LARGE AND WELL-ORGANIZED COMMUNITY group has waded into the fray over factory farming in Stone Mills.

Concerned Citizens of our Community Environments presented council with an information package citing studies of intensive hog operations gone bad and a prepared statement outlining the group's concerns about a proposed hog farm in Erinsville.

Virginia Storring and Colette Drisdale, speaking for the group, delivered a statement that recognized the limits of council's authority and told of the community's growing frustration with the province.

"Be assured that we sympathize with the difficult position council is in," the statment said.

"The government of Ontario loads environmental responsibilites on small municipalities but limits their ability to protect the environment.It does not commit to planning and refuses to act when is should protect the environment.

"The legislative farmework cannot continue to defer to the standards set by the livestock industry. The risks to the health of the environment and to the security of the public are too great to ignore."

Storring outlined the committee's concerns which centre on the issue of third-party review of the Nutrient Management Plan prepared for the Slacks, the family proposing the farm.

Storring argued that an explanation of the plan done by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs was unacceptable based on the ministry's commitment to supporting agriculture first, and that ministry officials "never came out to inspect the site for themselves."

Council agreed that the ministry wasn't an objective party and that the township would be better served by an independent review of the facts.

Several members of council expressed disappointment with the province and its handling of the issue.

Councillor Duane Williams said "when you have (the ministry) doing a third-party review, it's like having the fox guarding the chicken coop."

Reg Unger, the township's chief building official, recommended to council that there be an unbiased thrid-party review and that John Uliana, the township's   planner oversee the commissioning of the studies to the appropriate experts.

Council agreed.

Storring and Drisdale thanked council for its co-operation and added: "People are worried. They're scared about their property values, their water, their wells and the environment. We are not anti-farming at all. but we see a distinction betwen farming and what we call factories."

Council announced that a public meeting has been called to discuss the issues with the Slack family on Monday at the township hall in Centreville.

An informal discussion period will take place between 2 and 4 p.m., followed by panel presentation by the Slacks and various who have helped them gather the information required to comply with the intensive-farming bylaw.