ACTUALITÉ / NEWS Laflèche Environmental wants to set up shop in Russell Township
environmental assessment (EA) review. “They will have to go to the Ministry of Environment for a certificate of authority,” he said, adding that applies to both the original transfer station proposal and any future expansion or upgrade plans. The mayor declined to comment on any comparison between the plans of Laflèche Environment for its industrial park site and those of Ottawa-based Taggart-Miller regarding a proposed recycling plant operation near Russell village. Mayor St. Pierre noted that Taggart-Miller still has not made any formal application to the province for an environmental assessment of its proposal. The company has posted a suggested draft terms of reference on its website but that still does not qualify as an actual EA request. Mayor St. Pierre noted one difference between the proposals of Laflèche Environmental and Taggart-Miller. The industrial park site for Laflèche is zoned for such a purpose while the land that Taggart- Miller wants to use is a former quarry site
G REGG C HAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
EMBRUN | One of the biggest homegrown recycling firms in Eastern Ontario is looking to expand part of its operations into Russell Township. Laflèche Environmental and the Township of Russell have struck a deal for sale of a 20-acre site in the municipal industrial park. Mayor Jean-Paul St. Pierre confirmed the sale agreement between the two during a phone interview April 23. “Yes, we have made a deal,” Mayor St. Pierre said. “It is for a transfer station.” Laflèche Environmental’s plan is to set up a transfer station on the property for collection of recycling materials that will be trucked later to the company’s main recycling facility in Moose Creek. Mayor St. Pierre noted that the company’s future goal may include expanding the transfer station into a recycling facility but he added that will still require provincial approval, including an
photo archives Mayor Jean-Paul St. Pierre confirmed the sale agreement between the two during a phone interview April 23.
township and Laflèche Environmental is expected later this week. The township still has 150 acres remaining in its industrial park for other suitable commercial and industrial developments.
that would also still require a rezoning application to both the township and the United Counties of Prescott-Russell should an EA review clear the proposal. A joint formal press release from the
Castor River gets bare passing grade in State of Nation report
andEmbrun. “I think there’s a strong message there,” said Mayor St. Pierre. Watson noted that Conservation Ontario is trying to get all the conservation authorities in the province to do “report cards” on their watershed areas, with evaluations on three specific issues: overall water quality, forest cover, and wetland cover. These “report cards” would become a permanent record of the state of Ontario’s major watersheds. SNC’s own State of the Nation review began five years ago with the Bear Brook portion of the South Nation watershed. The following year technicians and specialists focused their monitoring efforts on the headwaters region of the South Nation River, Then 2010 was the time for the Castor River, the central stretch of the South Nation River followed in 2011 and this year, the SNC is studying the lower portion of the watershed. The 2010 examination of the Castor River involved 20 monitoring stations set up along the length of the stream. Water samples were taken and examined and observations made about the amount of streamside forest cover and wetland habitat available for native fish, waterfowl, and wildlife.
Results of the Castor River study show that overall, the stream meets or improves on provincial guidelines in some areas but in others it falls short. Concerning water quality, the amount of dissolved nitrates in the Castor River is just a bit above the provincial guideline, which is acceptable. But the dissolved phosphorus content of the river is twice what is acceptable in Ontario. Watson noted this is not good because that means, under the right weather and water conditions, there is a greater chance of algae blooms in the river, which can result in large-scale fish kills as the algae lowers the oxygen content of the stream. The wetland habitat cover rating for the stream is acceptable, Watson said, but the report gives an overall “D” grade for forest cover conditions along the Castor River with long stretches of inadequate or no forest cover at all. When the final State of the Nation report is complete, Watson noted, it will help the SNC with planning guidelines for its existing treeplanting and woodlot advisory programs. It will also help with the SNC’s clean water program for landowners which offers cost- sharing aid for farmers and rural homeowners
with stream-side property to make improvementsthatcanreduceerosion,improve farm animal manure storage.
G REGG C HAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
EMBRUN | There’s a bit of “red ink” on a preliminary report card for a review of the environmental health of the Castor River. Katherine Watson, a water resources specialist for the South Nation Conservation Authority (SNC), presented a “State of the Nation” report on the Castor River to Russell Township council April 16. SNC is in the fifth- year of a five-year monitoring and evaluation review of conditions in the South Nation River watershed. Studies on the Castor River were done in 2010 and a four-page public review document in both French and English will be available later this year, outlining results of that year of study. Meanwhile, Watson is providing local municipal groups with a “thumbnail” preview of the report and its findings. Mayor Jean-Paul St. Pierre noted that the situation represents an opportunity for the township and the regional conservation group to work together on planning to better protect and enhance the Castor River, which is a major local waterway running through both the villages of Russell
Results of the Castor River study show that overall, the stream meets or improves on provincial guidelines in some areas photo Sébastien Pierroz Il n y aura finalement pas d'élections dans la province. Les 107 députés ontariens réunis à Queen's Park mardi matin ont finalement voté leur confiance dans le budget 2012 du gouvernement McGuinty. Retrouvez plus d'informations à ce sujet dans notre prochaine édition. Dernière minute...
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