The Rural Voice, 2002-01, Page 22Changing expectations of farm management will make farmers liable for
damage to streams and aquifers so animals and water may not mix.
the future.
After his experience, Dave advises
other farmers to definitely complete
an Environmental Farm Plan. He also
advises farmer to keep records of
their farming activities. Calling
himself something of a record freak,
due to his veterinary work, Dave kept
records of all his farm activities —
when he spread manure on what
fields, and so on. When officials with
the O'Connor Commission studying
the Walkerton tragedy looked into
his records, they could see that he'd
run his farm in an exemplary fashion.
It's the kind of evidence that's
important to prove a farmer has taken
the necessary steps to protect the
environment but that may not be
enough in the future, says Vogel. If a
farmer's operations can be proven to
have fouled a regional aquifer the
liability can extend far beyond his
farm. That's why the Sierra Club of
Canada and the Alert -Sierra
Coalition are arguing for
comprehensive risk-based regulations
to require proper hydrogeological
study of sites before large livestock
operations are constructed. Then if
large livestock operations are built in
an environmentally vulnerable area,
they would be responsible for
damages caused to the aquifer.
The Alert -Sierra Coalition wants a
risk assessment for a new large-scale
intensive livestock operation to take
into consideration factors affecting
the absorptive capacity of the on-site
soils and the watershed as a whole.
Factors to be considered might
include climatic and soil conditions,
manure composition, time and rate of
spreading, the geology and
hydrogeology of the site, the existing
aquifer and surface water quality and
the proximity of the site to wellhead
recharge areas.
While all this sounds scary
for smaller farmers Vogel
feels if regional aquifer
vulnerability mapping is done, it may
actually help smaller scale farmers.
While many farmers and farm
groups have hoped that the
province's new nutrient management
legislation may clear up the situation
of farmers' liability, it appears
unlikely to. Forces beyond the
government are at work.
As Dietrich points out, we live in
a society that's increasingly ready to
sue and the standards that society and
the courts expect are becoming
higher with every court case. It may
be that the rural world has been
changed as much by Walkerton as
the rest of society has by September
11. For most people, the reality of
those changes is just starting to sink
in.0
"You were very supportive and sensitive to our situation.
We were lucky to have you."
Formosa
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