WINNIPEG, NB, Can (Resource News International via COMTEX) -- Ontario's environmental laws do not address the risks large farming operations pose to groundwater, says a report from the province's environmental commissioner.
A report on intensive farming and the protection of groundwater that was submitted to the legislative assembly July 27 said Ontario has a "confused patchwork" of laws and policies on protecting groundwater.
Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller released the documents three months earlier than his annual report because of ongoing investigations into the tainted water that devastated Walkerton, Ont., this year. The contamination of the town's drinking water with E. coli is suspected by some experts to be related to contamination of groundwater by runoff from local farms. Six people died and up to 2,000 were made ill by the tragedy which came to light in May.
Thursday's report said intensive farming operations, which sometimes have thousands of pigs or cattle, have been replacing small family farms in recent years, and that such large operations can produce vast quantities of liquid manure.
The Ministry of the Environment should develop a comprehensive groundwater strategy, Miller said, that would include identifying sources of contamination and their potential effects on health. (Canadian Press)
Copyright 1998 Resource News International
