Community to meet to discuss proposed feedlot near fragile Alberta recreational lake
Cottage owners and farmers who say a proposed feedlot threatens the water quality of a popular lake are to gather this weekend to discuss how they can keep making their case to the regulatory body that will rule on the project.
"We've had a lot of interest, not just from the lake community, but also the farm community," said Jeannette Hall, who is organizing the meeting in Westerose, Alta., near Pigeon Lake, where a feedlot owner has applied to expand his operation by 4,000 head of cattle.
Pigeon Lake is unusual in that it's fed by run-off, not streams or rivers, and is drained by a single creek. That makes the lake highly vulnerable to algal blooms fed by nutrients washing into its waters.
The lake's roughly 5,000 inhabitants have spent millions upgrading wastewater systems to improve the lake's water quality. They fear the feedlot proposed by G&S Cattle Ltd. would undo that work.
The feedlot would be within a few kilometres of the shore on land that slopes down into it.
Pigeon Lake is already "supercharged" with nutrients from decades of residential growth as well as the region's natural geology, said Jay White, a consulting biologist who's studied the lake for years. Those nutrients don't go away, he said.
"Once it gets in your lake there's no place for it to go."
While White said there are ways to keep manure from contaminating lake water, he doesn't see enough of them in the proposal now before the Natural Resources Conservation Board.
"This application is treating this site like any other feedlot site in Alberta," he said. "We're not seeing anything over and above the guidelines."
Greg Thalen, owner of G&S Cattle, has declined interview requests on his plans.
Many have concerns about public consultation, said Opposition New Democrat environment critic Marlin Schmidt, who was door-knocking in Pigeon Lake this week.
"Everybody found out about the project indirectly," he said.
Notice was posted in a small rural weekly newspaper that few saw, with a public feedback period of less than a month.
More than 300 statements of concern were registered, including from three First Nations. The County of Wetaskiwin asked for an environmental impact assessment.
Environment Minister Jason Nixon has said the public consultation has been adequate.
But Schmidt said many he spoke with fear their concerns won't be taken seriously.
"People were not feeling hopeful that their statements of concern would be considered, (that) if the government wants this to go forward there's not much people can do to stop it."
Schmidt said his party wants to look at changing legislation governing industrial agriculture. He said public consultation could be both lengthened and include more people, with better standards for locating developments.
"People are really upset about this proposal," he said.
Hall said the meeting will share information on the environmental risks of the proposal and how the regulatory process works. She said the concerns aren't only from cottage owners.
"So many people feel this is an attack on farming. That's not what it is at all."
The community meeting is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Lakedell Ag Centre in Westerose.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.