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Special issue : Whispering Pines Threatened
Letters originally posted to the files section of the Awakening Isis NewsGroup on September 29th, 2003.
1) Letter to Mr Boudria
2) Letter to Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
Letter to Mr. Boudria
Mr Boudria, An issue has come to light which affects the health, safety and well being of my community greatly.
The issue pertains to pig farms within our area. I have recently discovered that three licences for industrial pig farms have been issued in our area by Mayor Pommainville of The Nation Municipality. The locations are St. Albert, Ste. Rose and Pendleton Ontario.
I live virtually across the street from the proposed pig farm in Pendleton Ontario and was just made aware of it through a local newspaper story in The Prescott Russell News.
I spoke to Jean Marc Lalonde the Provincial MP for our area who is also expressing his concern for both the healthy and safety of our community as well as the economic effects of our property values. Quite simply, no one wants to live near a pig farm. In speaking with Mayor Pommanville, he has stated that this is a done deal, we have no choice but to accept this as now our way of life. Construction in Pendleton will start once the flood recedes from The Nation River.
He also stated that there is no obligation to complete a study on the effects to our environment or to our health and safety and that of our livestock, water, soil and most importantly to our children.
I purchased a home out in my area in order that my children could grow up in a wonderful clean environment, not to be surrounded by pig farms along the river edge.
I beg of you Honourable Boudria, to please request that an environmental study as well as a health and safety study be completed before they allow the pig farm to operate in a our beautiful rural area. I want to be able to hang out my laundry, allow my children to play outside, have safe drinking water and enjoy our beautiful area. I do Not want to live another Walkerton…
Please help us....
Kelli LeBlanc
(613) 952-5673
(613) 957-7224 (fax)
c.c. Dalton McGuinty
c.c. Ottawa Citizen
c.c. Ottawa Sun
c.c. Minister of the Environment David Anderson
c.c CBC
c.c. Jean Cretien
c.c. Denis Pommainville
c.c. Le droit
Letter to the Honourable Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
Honourable Dalton McGuinty,
Premier of Ontario
Urgent Rural Health, Safety and Environmental Concern Requiring Your Attention:
-There are 3 industrial hog factories planned for the Nation Township which resides in the United Counties of Prescott-Russell of Ontario. All permits have been passed within a 4 month period. Each factory is to hold 2,500 maternity sows.
-The 3 Industrial hog factories are from Quebec.
-Since the factories were given permits prior to July of this year they will not fall under the mandate of the Nutrient Management initiative until the year 2008
-The Mayor Denis Pommainville (613-241-7335) and councilmen of the Nation were asked months ago by residents to adopt an interim bylaw.
-The bylaw was not adopted and 1, if not all 3, factories were given building permits without further investigations. (The interim by-law was passed 10 days after they granted a permit for a hog factory in St. Rose on March 7th.)
-The mega pig factory on Concession 10 in Pendleton, is 298m from the known flood plain of the South Nation River. The map that the municipality used to respect this distance is 20 years old (South Nation River Conservation Richard Pilon (613) 984-2948). If an interim by-law had been adopted sooner, the municipality could have requested a more accurate map or a hydro geological study of the area both of which would address citizen's concerns of flooding, landslides and pollution. This area floods every year. If the area where the holding tanks flood, what will happen? The South Nation River provides water for the village of Plantagenet which includes a nursing home, 3 schools and hundreds of residents.
Local knowledge indicated that the "100 year flood" is due at any time in this area.
There are maps available from the United Counties Prescott Russell, showing that the hog factory will be built dangerously close to an unstable slope. (Lots 14 and 15 concession 10 Pendleton)
http://www.prescott-russell.on.ca/documents/Schedc_en.pdf
The area is known to contain large amounts of Leda clay which was the cause of the town of Lemieux to slide away approx. 10 years ago. (The town of Lemieux used to be within approx. 7 km of where the pig factory is supposed to go)
http://geoscape-eas.methane.org/landslide/menu_landslide.htm
The Municipality of The Nation will not listen to us about the dangers associated with putting 2500 swine close to the South Nation River on unstable soil. When asked why no hydro geological study was completed before the permit was issued, we were told by them, "The Municipality is not required to do one, so we won't".
-When councilors and the mayor were asked on February 18th if there was a hog factory planned on concession 10, most claimed that they did not have any information, even though the building permit had been issued 22 days prior. Many of them claimed that they had not even considered an interim by-law as it would slow down the growth of the Nation.
-The factory is listed as agriculture not as industry/commercial therefore the revenue generated from the taxes is minimal ($5000 per year at best)
-In order to meet the demands of these factories, many roads will need to be improved. There will be additional cost for maintenance due to increased traffic.
The Ministry of Natural resources cannot help us as they said "It is up to the Municipality to verify unstable land use, MNR has no mandate to investigate further".
Ministry of Environment will not get involved as "they have no mandate"
Ministry of Agriculture will not get involved, as once again "they have no mandate."
We have no faith in our Municipal Government to protect us.
The Nation Municipality overlooked the fact or was not aware of the fact that the site of the proposed hog factory in Pendleton, is actually on a possible Native Winter Camp. Artifacts were found on the property by Dr. Pilon (613) 776-8192 who confirmed that they were sacred tools used by Natives. The tools are now in a Museum in Ottawa.
Dr Pilon has indicated that many other artifacts have been found in the area and has not yet been fully explored. He indicated that the "Muldoon Farm" in Pendleton has major historical significance, and building a pig factory on top of it, would be devastating.
The Ministry of Culture had to step in and inform the Municipality of possible repercussions involved, if the pig factory was built prior to excavation. If they missed such an important fact such as a historical site how many other things have they missed?
They plan to build the factory on the soil after excavation has been completed. How will that affect already unstable soil?
There is a natural waterway (a creek) on the proposed property in Pendleton. It was discovered that this creek was diverted sometime in 1991. The creek was diverted without proper authorization. How does a diverted creek affect the continuing geological process along the banks of The South Nation River? We have been unsuccessful in getting a response to this question.
The Municipality of The Nation will not help us after numerous contacts. The Municipality says they have no mandate to help. If they had adopted an interim Bylaw in November when asked, they would have had the mandate to investigate further.
We understand that all areas in Eastern Ontario have been targeted by these pig factories, as they know we have no rules that they must follow in Ontario.
We were promised safe drinking water, and Walkerton would never happen again. We know that if something is not done to stop this, that we WILL be another Walkerton.
Please do not allow us to be poisoned...
Please insist that environmental studies, health and safety studies, waterway studies must be completed before 2500 hogs and their excrement will flow along The South Nation River and the Scotch River in Pendleton and Ste-Rose de Prescott.
People lives and farms are depending on you. We would appreciate if you could respond to us in writing with our concerns.
Thank you.
Citizens Action Group FYFN. (Farms Yes Factories No)
(613) 673-4759
or (613) 673-2699
FYFN
988 Route 13
Curran Ontario
K0B-1C0
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