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The Citizen, 1997-06-18, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 1997 Farmers hear of important tools at workshop A Nutrient Management Plan, along with an Environmental Farm Plan, could be important tools in proving a farmer has taken proper precautions to protect the environ­ ment, a London lawyer told a workshop on manure management in Holmesville, June 10. Paul G. Vogel of Cohen Highley Vogel and Dawson told about 140 people present, “It’s clear that a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) and Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) are going to be significant in the ability to demonstrate a farmer is following normal farm practices and using due diligence.” This is important, Vogel said, because due diligence is the only defence a farmer can use against charges of contaminating air or water, and a farmer is only protect­ ed through the Farm Practices Pro­ tection Act if it can be demonstrated he was following normal farm practices. Vogel was one of five speakers taking part in the meeting called Manure Management — The Law and You, co-sponsored by the Huron Stewardship Council and the Huron County Federation of Agri­ culture. It deals with a hot topic in Huron because of the new liquid manure bylaw adopted by most townships. It requires an NMP be developed before a building permit can be issued for a liquid manure tank for a new facility holding more than 150 livestock units or expansion of an existing facility of that size by more than 20 per cent. Also speaking at the meeting were Mike Toombs, an agricultural engineer and rural/urban interface with OMAFRA; Wayne Caldwell, senior planner with the Huron County Planning and Development Department; and Kevin McKague and Paula Niece of Ecologistics in Lucan, a consulting firm that, among other things, prepares NMPs. Vogel, the final speaker, brought sobering information about the neavy penalties for those convicted under the the Environmental Pro­ tection Act (EPA) or Ontario Waler Resources Act (OWRA). The sim­ ple-sounding EPA rule, “Anyone responsible for a source of contam­ inant is liable for the discharge of the contaminant into the environ­ ment if it is likely to have an adverse effect” — becomes much scarier because of broad interpreta- tion, Vogel said. Those held responsible are not just those in possession of the contaminant when it was discharged, but those who have had ownership in the past. Contaminant has been defined as heat, vibration and sound as well as more easily-recognized contami­ nants as chemicals and liquid manure. Adverse effect has been defined as damage to property, or plant and animal life, causing discomfort, causing adverse health effects, adversely affecting the safety of others, making something unfit for use, causing the loss of normal use of property, and business interfer­ ence. Those convicted of violating the EPA, face fines of up to $400,000 a day and a year in jail. There is strict liability, meaning you are responsi­ ble in law for the act and that say­ ing it is an accident is no excuse. The act also provides for absolute liability for clean-up costs and strict liability for damages to the property or health of others. The only defence is that you have taken due diligence. Under the OWRA, the owner of any contaminant that may be released near water and endanger anything, human or animal, using water, is liable for fines of up to $200,000 a day and a year in jail. The courts have rejected the defence that the water into which a contaminant was released was already unfit. Vogel told of one farmer who had a manure spill following a heavy rain and fish died in a nearby At the grill Brussels firefighters Murray Kellington, left and Brian Deitner were busy cooking up rations of sausage and bacon for the Father's Day breakfast on Sunday at the fire hall. There was a good turnout to the event, the proceeds of which are going to the fireworks for the 125th Homecoming Celebration in August. Father rescues children A near-tragedy was averted when a father was able to rescue his chil­ dren from a sinking car off a Bay- field pier, June 14. Bradley Hymers, 32, of Clinton left his 1992 Chev parked, facing north on the pier along the south shore marina, with the keys in the ignition and his children in the back seat. The children, Brittany Hymers, three, and Courtney Hymers, two, put the vehicle in motion, causing it to roll into the Bayfield River. Bradley Hymers rescued the chil­ dren from the car. They were taken to Clinton Pub­ lic Hospital with minor hypother­ mia. creek. The farmer argued due dili­ gence because the tank was proper­ ly constructed but the court rejected the argument because the fanner’s tank was near a stream and he didn’t have proper management to deal with overflows. In such cases, Vogel said, if a farm had an EFP and NMP, it would help the farmer’s defence that he had taken all reasonable precautions. Toombs said the number of com­ plaints against farmers are likely to increase as the rural, non-farm pop­ ulation continues to swell. OMAFRA now gets 700-800 com­ plaints a year about farm practices. Half of these are odour, noise and dust related. At the same time as more non­ farmers have been moving into rural areas, the size of livestock operations has been increasing As barns became bigger, farmers turned to liquid manure for labour saving, yet liquid manure causes more complaints because of smell. There has been a rising number of complaints and the formation of citizens’ groups concerned about odours, the safety of their well water and the enjoyment of their lifestyle. Such groups have pres­ sured some townships into adopt­ ing bylaws that say “no swine here”. These municipal councils are just fulfilling their responsibilities to their constituents, Toombs said, even if the bylaws are an oveiTeac- tion. Such concerns have led to the development of NMPs, Toombs said. Despite the fact that storage of liquid manure has become better, allowing farmers to hold their manure longer, problems persist and the idea that if facilities don’t solve the problem, management can. Caldwell said the new liquid manure bylaws in Huron, which he called the most intense issue he's been involved with in 15 years, are an outgrowth of the original bylaws in 1982. Back then the issue was odour, he said. Now the concern seems to be with water quality. The impetus for developing the new bylaw came from Grey Twp. Municipal politicians recognize the importance of the livestock industry and want to avoid a knee­ jerk reaction but also recognize that something has to be done. The building boom in large one swine and dairy bams is just the tip of the iceberg, Caldwell said. The goal of the municipalities is to have some­ thing in place if even bigger live­ stock operations come along as they have elsewhere in North America. Most of Huron’s 16 townships have adopted the model bylaw developed by the planning depart­ ment but four, Ashfield, Morris, Stephen and Goderich, have revised it slightly. The plan calls for development of an NMP by a consultant for facili­ ties with 150 animal units of more (150 milking cows, beef cows or horses, 300 beef feeders, 750 sows, 600 feeder pigs, 3,000 weaner pigs, 18,750 laying hens or 30,000 broil­ ers). Operations using dry manure needn’t apply. Existing operations are exempt and can expand by less than 20 per cent per year and not have to apply. The bylaw only requires an NMP in order to get the building permit and it doesn’t have to be updated, Caldwell said, though it would be in the best inter­ est of the farmer to do so. Caldwell was questioned about the requirement for a consultant to do the NMP (at a cost of about $750) since many farmers already do this themselves. “Municipalities are saying that when there is a new facility they want a third party to look at the issue and make sure the plan is sound,” he replied. “What municipalities are looking for is assurance the system works before the building permit is issued.” McKague said for a consultant preparing an NMP, the emphasis is on the ability of the crop to take up nutrients, not the number of animal units involved. The greatest con­ cern in the nitrogen cycle, he said, is when manure is applied to the soil because that’s when there can be accumulation or losses to air, water and soil. “The goal is to keep the nutrient level intact.” The NMP begins with an on-site review of the operation by the con­ sultant which allows him/her to characterize a current manure man­ agement system, including how it is taken to the field, applied and spread, the type of manure and the volume, the soil types in the field, the crop rotations and th existing fertility levels and to look at alter­ native disposal methods. From this visit, the consultant develops recommendations on spreading rates, timing of spreading so the crop will take up the most nitrogen, how to make best use of the available nutrients and the min­ imum acreage required for proper uptake of the manure produced. The consultant will also design an action plan to prevent a spill and a plan on what to do if one occurs. Wired of the snow? 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