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| "When an activity raises
threats of harm to human health or the environment,
precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and
effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.
In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the
public, should bear the burden of proof." - Wingspread
Statement of the Precautionary Principle. |
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New Brunswick
Index
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Closure
of Metz Barn Causes Media Flurry
There was a flurry of Media attention to the Metz story.
Here are some links if you missed these articles.
In English
CBC Radio - As It Happens
(This clip is in Real Audio and begins at the 6:07 mark after 2 minutes
silence)
http://cbc.ca/asithappens/media/dailyshow/2005-11-02-aih3.ram
CBC Radio - News
http://nb.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nb_metzcloses20051102
CBC
Radio - News
http://nb.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nb_metzmanure20051104
canadaeast.com
http://www.canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051102/CPA/25457025
En francais
Radio-Canada
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/atlantique/2005/11/02/008-megaporcherie-nb.shtml
Radio CJSE
http://www.capacadie.com/cjse/detail.cfm?id=123873
L'Acadie Nouvelle
http://www.capacadie.com/moncapacadie/index.cfm?url=../acadienouvelle/detail.cfm?id=123912
Association for the Preservation of the Bouctouche Watershed
L'association pour la préservation du basin versant de Bouctouche
3-9550 Main Street
RICHIBUCTO NB E4W 4E4
Web: http://www.mondata.com/action
E-mail: pigs.poop.politics@mondata.com
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Become
a Friend for the Legal Defence of the Conservation Council of New
Brunswick
The
Conservation Council of New Brunswick and its senior staff members David
Coon and Inka Milewski are being sued by Bennett Environmental for
comments made in the media and a letter to the editor concerning a
hazardous waste incinerator the company is building in Belledune, New
Brunswick. Bennett Environmental is based in Oakville,
Ontario.
What the Conservation Council saw as its duty to provide fair
comment on a matter of significant public interest resulted in this
lawsuit which alleges the comments were defamatory and brought Bennett
Environmental into hatred, ridicule and contempt resulting in injury to
its character and professional reputation. The company is seeking
general damages, special damages, punitive damages and its costs.
The Province of New Brunswick exempted the hazardous waste incinerator
from a full public environmental impact assessment. The Federal
Court of Appeal recently overturned the decision of the federal Minister
of Environment to refer the project to a federal review panel following a
judicial review brought by the company. Local property owners are
currently appealing the companys building permit.
The Conservation Council is asking groups and individuals to consider
helping in the following ways:
1. Publicize the case and the legal defence fund.
2. Make a donation to the legal defence fund.
3. Allow your name or your groups name to be published as
Friends for the Legal Defence of the Conservation Council of New
Brunswick.
4. Consider hosting a fundraising event for CCNBs legal defence.
A complete copy of Bennetts Statement of Claim can be obtained by
contacting the Conservation Council for full details on what the company
alleges were defamatory statements.
The following are paraphrases of two of the statements in question.
In response to a question from a New Brunswick Telegraph Journal reporter
in August 2003, David Coon told him that toxic pollutants are released
from incinerators which treat hazardous waste and that these end up as
contaminants in the environment. In its Statement of
Claim, Bennett alleges that the statement was false and defamatory of
their company, and maliciously stated.
In an October letter to the editor of the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal
last year, Inka Milewski noted that months had passed since the
Conservation Council had written to the Ministers of Environment and
Health detailing what it believed were deficiencies in the
companys air pollution and human health risk assessments. In
its Statement of Claim, Bennett alleges the statement was false and
malicious.
The Conservation Council has had a long-standing policy of opposing the
importation of hazardous wastes for treatment in New Brunswick and the
high temperature incineration of toxic chemicals on environmental grounds.
To make a donation to the Conservation Council Legal Defence Fund, order a
copy of the Statement of Claim, or if you are willing to host a
fundraising event, please contact the Conservation Council of New
Brunswick, 180 St. John Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 4A9
Tel(506) 458-8747 Fax (506) 458-1047 E-mail ccnb@nb.aibn.com.
Further information about the issue can be found at www.conservationcouncil.ca
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Association
for the Preservation of the Bouctouche Watershed
L’Association pour la préservation de la bassin versant de Bouctouche
MEDIA RELEASE
12 August 2004
For Immediate Release
Permanent
Solution or Just Another License Renewal?
“Sainte-Marie-de-Kent citizens expect to be included at the
table. To do otherwise would be to ignore the right to the enjoyment of
their property and to the protection of their quality of life.”
Based
on a news report from Radio-Canada 11 August 2004, Premier Bernard Lord
has indicated his willingness to revise the conditions of the Livestock
Operations License issued to Metz Farms 2 Ltd. to reflect the concerns
expressed by citizens.
This is a step in the right direction.
“Before the license is renewed, it is only reasonable to expect that the
community most affected would be consulted,” Jerry Cook, Association
spokesperson asserted. “Also, it would be expected that public
information relating to the first license be made accessible to determine
if the conditions of that license have been respected,” Cook added.
Throughout the past five years, public information continues to be
withheld. Citizen’s petitions and letters have been ignored, but the
courts have determined that this information should and must be released.
Since the spring of 2004, citizens have been insisting that details of the
$1.5 million subsidy, offered two and one half years ago, be released to
taxpayers. This subsidy was given to install new technology and provide a
permanent solution, neither of which have been accomplished to date.
The Association believes that the license should not be renewed until all
information has been released and citizens are included at the table to
discuss how, when and what new technology will be implemented.
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Hog
Subsidy Adds to Millions
July 28, 2004
The
citizens of Sainte-Marie-de-Kent estimate that the Province of New
Brunswick has spent 3 million dollars over the past five years on the Metz
operation.
The money was spent in the courts fighting citizen’s requests for
information, providing the industry with the Manure Nutrient Management
Plan and the Contingency Plan to support the original license application,
monitoring water quality in the Bouctouche Watershed, and numerous other
ongoing activities.
When the cost of the collapsed roof in the spring of 2000, and the new
technology which the industry has not installed as promised are added in,
the total is over three million dollars.
Production has been estimated at 35 000 hogs per year, so one can conclude
that the subsidy has cost taxpayers of New Brunswick over $16 per hog
produced in the last five years.
Jerry Cook, a spokesperson for the Association for the Preservation of the
Bouctouche Watershed firmly insists “Before the Province renews the
operating permit for another five years, the Province needs to make
available to taxpayers all public information and the expenses relating to
the first license”. Cook adds that “citizens must be included in
the decision making process before implementing the permanent solution
announced three years ago”.
The last five years have been a nightmare… citizens do not want it
repeated.
Citizens want a moratorium on the renewal of the operating license until
all public information relating to this industry is made available.
Premier Lord should personally intervene to end unilateral and uninformed
decision-making. Lord should also revisit the key recommendation of the
expert panel he appointed and determine which option: moving or
closing, is the most appropriate.
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Letter to Premier Lord
July 25, 2004
- 80 Chemin Allain
- Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, NB
- E4S 1N5
- le 25 juillet 2004
- Monsieur Bernard Lord
- Premier Ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick
- CP 6000
- FREDERICTON, NB
- E3B 5H1
- Objet: Demande de moratoire permis
d’exploitation des Fermes Metz II
- Monsieur le Premier Ministre,
- Comme vous le savez, le permis d’exploitation des
Fermes Metz II doit expirer dans les prochains jours.
Depuis déjà plusieurs années et de façon spéciale pendant les
derniers mois, les citoyens concernés par la présence et les activités
des Fermes Metz ont essayé, par tous les moyens, d’ouvrir un
dialogue avec la province.
- Des rencontres personnelles ont même eu lieu entre
vous et le Père Denis Belliveau. Dès le 26 avril 2004, Père
Denis vous exprimait, en notre nom, que depuis déjà trop longtemps,
des informations publiques étaient retenues et de nombreuses
questions restaient sans réponse. En avril, vous étiez donc
personnellement informé que les citoyens jugeaient comme critique
l’accès à certaines informations entourant le permis
d’exploitation des Fermes Metz II.
- Nous pensions que vous aviez acquiescé que des
informations nous seraient communiquées par l’entremise du député
local, M. Claude Williams, au sujet de l’utilisation des fonds
publics. A plusieurs reprises, vous nous avez invité à
travailler en étroite collaboration avec le député Claude Williams.
- Or, pendant plusieurs mois, le P. Denis s’est
conformé à votre suggestion sans obtenir de résultats concrets.
Même après une deuxième rencontre personnelle avec vous à
Fredericton le 30 juin 2004, presque la totalité de l’information
demandée est encore bloqué au niveau des ministères de
l’Agriculture et de l’Environnement.
- Nous espérons que vous porterez une attention immédiate
à notre demande qui constitue un ultime effort de la part des
citoyens, compte tenu que le premier permis doit expirer à très brève
échéance. L’ensemble de la communauté est consterné à
l’effet qu’un investissement de 1.5 millions de fonds publics
puisse être fait sans aucun compte rendu. Nous croyons qu’il
est essentiel que les citoyens puissent accéder à ces informations
avant le renouvellement du premier permis d’opération. Alors
que la population demande simplement d’avoir la possibilité de
s’exprimer et de faire partie du processus décisionnel, continuer
à l’exclure serait totalement inacceptable.
A votre demande, nous pouvons mettre à votre disposition une copie de
documents pertinents tels que:
- 1.
Times and Transcript, le 15 aout 2000, «Views on Metz farm committee»
- 2.
Lettre du 11 septembre 2000 par les élus du Districts de Service
locaux
- 3.
Lettre du 16 octobre 2000 détaillant demande d’information
entourant conditions du permis
- 4.
Plainte officielle remise au Ministère de l’Agriculture le 29 juin
2001 (8 pages)
- 5.
Telegraph Journal, le 2 août 2001, «Lord to name panel to resolve
Metz Farms dispute»
- 6.
Photos aériennes de la lagune abîmée par véhicules
- Étant donné la gravité de la situation et afin de
mobiliser le plus grand nombre de gens possible, nous faisons parvenir
une copie de cette lettre à divers individus et organismes concernés.
Nous mettons également l’ombudsman de la province du
Nouveau-Brunswick au courant de cette nouvelle demande pour qu’il
l’ajoute au dossier que nous lui avons déjà remis.
- Puisque les démarches entreprises par le P.
Denis dans les derniers mois avec le député local M. Claude Williams
n’ont pas été fructueuses, nous comptons, Monsieur le Premier
Ministre, sur votre bienveillante intervention auprès des
ministères concernés dans ce dossier fort important qui ne cesse de
s’aggraver.
- Il nous apparaît nécessaire, vu les circonstances,
de réclamer qu’un moratoire sur le renouvellement de permis soit
imposé jusqu’à ce que les citoyens aient accès à toute
l’information publique qui s’y rapporte.
- Dans l’attente d’une réponse positive de votre
part dans les plus brefs délais, veuillez recevoir l’expression de
nos meilleures salutations.
- Au nom des citoyens,
- Maurice et Chantal Cormier
- Citoyens concernés de Sainte-Marie-de-Kent
- copie: Ombudsman du Nouveau-Brunswick
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Différents chefs élus
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Députés fédéraux
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Différents représentants élus municipaux, provinciaux et fédéraux
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Médias
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Comité d’experts des Fermes Metz
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Université de Moncton, départements de droit et de sciences
environnementales
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Conseil de Conservation du Nouveau-Brunswick
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Sierra Club du Canada
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Coalition Au-delà d’une agriculture industrielle
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Environmental Defense (Canada)
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Société des Acadiens et Acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick (SAANB)
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Association pour la préservation du bassin versant de Bouctouche
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Autres organismes et individus intéressés
- Association for the Preservation of the Bouctouche
Watershed
- L'association pour la préservation du basin versant
de Bouctouche
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Challenge to Shawn Graham
July 9, 2004
Shawn Graham, Leader of the Opposition and Liberal Member of the
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for the riding of Kent, where the
Metz Farms 2 Ltd. operation is located, rose in the Legislature to thank
the Minister of Environment and Local Government, Brenda Fowlie, for
releasing her report.
Mr. Graham was presumably relieved that there were no glaring revelations
in the report that would bring attention to him or his Party's involvement
in the whole sordid Metz affair. Although it was the previous McKenna /
Theriault Liberal governments that established the factory farm operation
in the community, it is time Mr. Graham actually shares his opinions with
citizens on this issue.
In the Legislature, Graham reportedly said that he would be taking the
results of the testing to the community. It is assumed by his remarks that
he will actually meet with citizens for the first time in five years to
discuss the potential risks to human health and the Bouctouche River.
It is time for Mr. Graham to face the challenge he has placed on himself
and set a date for a meeting with the community to openly discuss these
test results.
Jerry Cook
Algae in the Bouctouche River.
See
photos captured on June 30th 2004
Sainte-Marie-de-Kent area water quality monitoring report
As we have fulfilled our commitment to monitor water quality in the area,
this routine monitoring program has concluded
FREDERICTON (CNB) - Four years of monitoring in the Sainte-Marie-de-Kent
area have not shown overall increasing trends in nutrient or bacteria
concentrations in surface or groundwater, Environment and Local Government
Minister Brenda Fowlie said today.
"Based on data collected over four years in the vicinity of
Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, there is no evidence that the Metz Farms 2 Ltd.
manure application program has had an adverse effect on surface water
quality in the area monitored," Fowlie said. "Results were
consistent with nutrients and bacteria originating from multiple sources,
including manure, livestock pasturing, septic systems and other sources
such as wild animals."
The purpose of the monitoring program was to assess the possible effects
of land application of liquid manure generated at Metz Farms 2 Ltd. on
local surface and ground water quality. A multi-stakeholder Ministerial
Monitoring Committee for Metz Farms 2 Ltd. was established to designate
sampling sites and help devise the monitoring plan. The program consisted
of sampling surface water and groundwater for bacteria and a series of
elements. Surface water was sampled at 40 sites, while groundwater
sampling involved over 75 private wells.
"The monitoring program has allowed us to adequately characterize
water quality in the study area," the minister said. "As we have
fulfilled our commitment to monitor water quality in the area, this
routine monitoring program has concluded. The need for periodic
re-sampling will be assessed in coming years."
The Department of the Environment and Local Government conducted the
monitoring program between 2000 and 2003. For surface water, the
monitoring plan called for sites to be sampled routinely, as well as after
a rainfall of 25 mm or greater within a 24 hour period. Groundwater was
sampled seasonally over the four-year period.
A summary report is available online here.
Association for the Preservation of the Bouctouche
Watershed
L'association pour la préservation du basin versant de Bouctouche
Web: http://www.mondata.com/action
E-mail: pigs.poop.politics@mondata.com
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Wed,
10 Mar 2004
Court File NO M/ M/ 0095 /03
2004 New Brunswick (Canada) Court of Queen Bench 098
Public Access to Info Withheld in
Court
Citizens of
Sainte-Marie-de-Kent have won a SECOND Access to Info Court Case
against Metz Farms' large pig operation trying to prevent Province
of NB to release public information concern air quality testing done in
the community and around the large intensive pig operation.
In its 17 page decision, Honourable
Mr. Justice George Rideout rules that the Province CANNOT SUPERCEDE
the Access to Information Act:
"I am returning the Report of
the Expert's Committee and the Pinchin Report to the Province of New
Brunswick and I am ordering that a copy of the Pinchin Report (that is the
Air quality testing data done on behalf of Province) be made
available to Neil Gardner (representative of citizens). "
"Further I am awarding Neil
Gardner costs on this application of $1000 payable by the Province of New
Brunswick."
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Association for the Preservation of the Bouctouche Watershed
3-9448 Main Street, RICHIBUCTO NB E4W 4E3
PRESS RELEASE
18 November 2003
For Immediate Release
During Rain, Frost, and Snow, Dumping of Hog Feces and
Urine Continues.
“Plants are dormant at this time of year and do not take up nutrients
in the fall.”
Last week, hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid hog feces and urine
have been spread in and around Sainte-Marie-de-Kent. This is the second
time this fall that dumping has occurred again with no warning to
citizens. “Governments talk about regulation but bottom line is the hog
factory does what they want. We never know where they will dump or when
they will be back. They don’t care about us,” says
Sainte-Marie-de-Kent citizen Maria Robichaud.
It is well known that plants are dormant at this time of year and do not
take up nutrients in the fall. And many times, the ground is frozen or
near frozen. This means that the nutrients are closer to the surface of
the ground and are more likely to run off fields during the heavy rains in
the autumn.
Results of a study at the NS Agriculture College has shown that "fall
spraying" was not worth it because liquid manure was bound to runoff
into watercourses and large amount of the nutrients were lost.
The operator of the largest hog operation east of Manitoba has been quoted
as saying, “From a farming point of view, one of the best times for the
plants to benefit from the manure is shortly after the first cut of hay is
taken.” (From an open letter to citizens in July 2001)
“Why does the NB Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fisheries
condone this practice?” asks Edmond Cormier, retired farmer from
Sainte-Marie-de-Kent.
And they do condone this practice because representatives of the
Department are on site during the dumping. And, the Department is still
flagging the fields to be sprayed even though this is a responsibility of
the licensee under the Livestock Operations Licence.
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Contact: Jerry Cook 506-523-2701
Association for the Preservation of the Bouctouche Watershed
L'association pour la préservation du basin versant de Bouctouche
Web: http://www.mondata.com/action
E-mail: pigs .poop.politics@mondata.com
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