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dam-l Perth's Tay River/ water abstraction/ fwd
My apologies for any cross postings.
I just received this.
Although this is about a situation in Ontario, it brings
up interesting questions about sensible water management
and water abstraction. The senders believe that it also
raises questions about water export. I'm not sure if that
makes sense or not.
"Forever" strikes me as foolish as a timespan in terms of
contracts, and points to the Min. of Environment's utter
ignorance of hydrological principals.
Feel free to pass this along to others who may be concerned.
cheers!
-Dianne
Forwarded message:
Subject: The Tay River, Perth On.
From: Sue Brandum <getalife@perth.igs.net>
Hi folks;
This is an urgent and critical request.
OMYA is a multi-national mining company based in Switzerland. It
bought out the former Steeprock plant about four years ago. It's intentions
are to make the Glen Tay plant (near Perth) the largest calcium carbonate
plant in the world. It mines the soft white marble north of its plant, near
Tatlock. Calcium carbonate is used in paints, drywall, toothpaste,
medicines, tons of different stuff, including as a partial replacement for
cellulose fibre in paper. You can find OMYA on the Internet.
OMYA is applying for a water-taking permit which would allow it to
take as much water from the Tay River as the Town of Perth does. The
problem is that most of this water is not ultimately returned to the river,
as it is from the Town. OMYA mixes most of the water with its crushed
calcium carbonate and exports it from here. The precedent that could be set
and the issue here is that the water doesn't make it back into the Tay --
it's exported.
The Tay River Watershed Committee, which is taking a very reasoned
approach, says there is not enough research yet to decide whether this
removal would harm the Tay. It needs another two years to collect the
research and is asking that the permit be delayed those two years.
The ONLY way to affect the granting of a water taking permit by the
Ministry of Environment is to send a letter. So, please take the 15 minutes
now to read the following, compose a short letter which simply says you do
not want the permit to be granted yet and that you want a thorough
environmental impact study absolutely assuring that such a removal will not
harm the Tay before the permit is granted. The fax number is below.
DEADLINE IS APRIL 2.
The kicker in all this is that the Ministry Of The Environment grants
water taking permits without a thought and recently granted one to a
company on the Tay that allows it to take water "FOREVER."
The Tay River flows into the Rideau, which flows into the Ottawa,
which flows into the St. Lawrence River, so yes, we are part of the Great
Lakes watershed ... which begs the question when is water not water and
when are water exports not water exports?
Thank you
Sue Brandum
*******************************
Tay River Watershed Plan Public Notice Regarding OMYA (Canada) Inc.
Proposed Water Taking from the Tay River
The Tay River Watershed Plan Executive Committee wishes to bring to
the attention of the community information related to OMYA's recent
application to install a pumping station on the Tay River to supply water
for its industrial plant. The application may be viewed at the Bathurst,
Burgess, Sherbrooke township office on Harper Road, at the Perth Public
Library, at the Ministry of the Environment, Kingston or on the
Environmental Registry website at www.ene.gov.on.ca or
http://204.40.253.254/envregistry/013314ei.htm .
BACKGROUND
The amount of water asked for is large--approximately a million gallons a
day, equivalent to the amount of water used by the town of Perth
daily. Pumping large amounts of water from the Tay River has implications
for the whole watershed including questions about water levels, the Perth
water supply, fish and wildlife habitats, groundwater recharging, adjacent
wetlands, Parks Canada water management levels for the Rideau Canal and
recreation.
Changing weather patterns and global warming have created increased
interest in water management issues and the need for caution for managing
water resources. The watershed's principal reservoir lake, Bob's lake, is
currently two feet below normal, the outflow is at an all time low, and
Environment Canada forecasts Eastern Canada's drought conditions to continue
There is currently no comprehensive study of the Tay River on which
to base decisions with long term and widespread implications. The
engineering report supporting the OMYA application uses data from the Glen
Tay water gauge as "the most appropriate." However, the gauge at Glen Tay
HAS NOT BEEN USED SINCE 1927. initial studies sponsored by the Tay River
Watershed Plan show current available information is scattered, incomplete
and out of date and that more study is needed. Changes in the Ministry of
the Environment's process make public participation an essential component
of environmental decision making;
TAY RIVER WATERSHED EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE POSITION
That the Ministry of the Environment be encouraged not to grant this
application until accurate and comprehensive flow data has been assembled
and a thorough environmental impact study on the Tay watershed has been
completed.
ACTON - WHAT YOU CAN DO
The public is urged to participate in this important decision-making
process. The Ministry stipulates that ONLY THOSE WHO COMMENT IN WRITING at
this stage may take part in any further review, request or appeal of this
application. You may participate in the following way:
Send your comments in writing to:
Supervisor, Water Resources Unit
Eastern Region, Technical Support
Ministry of the Environment
133 Dalton Avenue,
PO Box 820
Kingston, Ontario
K7L 4X6
Or fax to 613 548 6908
All comments must contain the Ministry's Registry and Reference numbers:
Registry number IA00E0427 and Reference number ER-9062
The deadline for receiving comments is April 2, 2000.
To strengthen the impact of your comments, send copies to your local
municipal government, as well as:
FOR THE REGION
Norm Sterling, MPP Lanark-Renfrew
130 Lansdowne Ave, Unit 5
Carleton Place, Ontario,
K7C 2T7
Fax 613 253 117
Ian Murray, MP Lanark Carleton
163A Bridge Street
Carleton Place, Ontario,
K7C 2V6
5 Fax 613 253 8027
Reeve Judy Brown
Township of Bathurst, Burgess, Sherbrooke
RR 4, Perth, Ontario
K7H 3C6
Fax 613 264 8516
Gordon Miller
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
1075 Bay Street, Suite 605
Toronto,Ontario
M5S 2B1
Fax 416 325 3370
AS PART OF THE GREAT LAKES WATERSHED YOU COULD CONTACT YOUR OWN MP AND MPP AND
Gordon Miller
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
1075 Bay Street, Suite 605
Toronto,Ontario
M5S 2B1
Fax 416 325 3370
Your input on this issue is important. Thank you for participating. For
further information, please call:
David Taylor 613-264-0094
Mike Mosher 613-267-7151
Carol Dillon 613-264-0680.
The Tay River Watershed Plan is a community-based group representing
residents, cottagers, landowners, businesses, interest groups, government
agencies and other stakeholders throughout the watershed. This group has
accepted the responsibility to promote and protect the Tay River watershed
area, to improve the environmental health of the watershed and to inform
and involve the community of issues concerning the Tay system.