The Honorable Laurel Broten
Minister of the Environment
135 St. Clair Avenue West,
12 Floor
Toronto, ON
M4V 1P5
CC: Mr. Bob
Steele Project Manager
WW Engineering Regional
Regional Municipality of Niagara Public Department
3501 Schmon Parkway
Box 1042
Thorold, ON
L2V 4T7
bob.steele@regional.niagara.on.ca
Aug. 4, 2005
Hon. Ms. Broten:
We
are requesting a Part II of the Environmental Assessment for Wainfleet Township
for the following reasons:
Mayor
Gord Harry and the Wainfleet Township Council, under the pretext of being
concerned for our welfare, decided to undertake a study of the quality of the
water in the wells on private properties in Wainfleet, focusing their study on
1365 properties bordering the lakefront within the township while ignoring wells
and groundwater inland from Lake Erie within the township. To the best of my knowledge, no studies were
done of water draining into Lake Erie from farms, fields and golfcourses via
ditches and storm drains. No tests were
done near garbage dumps, pig farms or other livestock farms to determine if
there is any leakage there that could adversely affect the quality of the
groundwater, the well water or the aquifers.
Water runs downhill and within our township, the lowest point is Lake
Erie and the lakefront properties bordering it.
So, even if wells inland were tested and water quality there was fine,
it is still possible, if not probable, that a lot of contaminents entering our
lakefront wells may come from such sources inland.
Finding
that some wells had some coliform contamination, the Council jumped to the
conclusion that aging and/or inadequate spetic systems were at fault without
ever doing percolation tests or any other tests of the soil around these septic
systems. In fact, no tests were done to
determine exactly from what sources the contamination was coming. The Council's reasoning simply is that there
is trouble with well water along the lakefront within the township and that the
septic systems on these properties must be the root cause. The Council then decided that the solution to
this "problem" is to run sewer and water mains out from Port Colborne
to service the whole lakefront area of Wainfleet. Further, the Council "reasoned"
that because, according to them, we the lakefront property owners are the cause
of the problem, we must bear the cost of this multi-million dollar project that
few of us want. Democracy in action.
I
can't help but believe that the Tonwship Council has other motivations besides
our welfare at heart... There has been
pressure from within and without the township in the last few years to develop
vacant lots and to "jump" the township into the 21st. century. Because of existing lot-size/building
restrictions and lack of sewers and water mains, the township has had limited
development and has retained its rural flavour.
This quality of life, so hard to find anywhere these days, is what the
majority of us landowners in Wainfleet want and is the reason most of us reside
out here to begin with. We don't want
added development, added traffic, denser populations.
Aside
from the Township and the Regional Government, and the Niagara Regional Health
Unit which is trying to cover itself against litigation should any of us fall
ill because of our water (and this has yet to happen), the only ones who want
this project to go through are the contractors and developers (such as Lester
Shoalts) who stand to make a tidy profit from it and those few who want to be
able to build on undersize lots. If the
project is really a "community problem" as Gord Harry claims and is
to benefit everyone as the above-named parties contend, then why isn't everyone
being asked to pay for it? In other
municipalities where such projects have been effected (eg. Sydenham, Ontario),
the Local, Regional, Provincial and Federal Governments have paid for these
works. For us, the 1365 lakefront
property owners, to be forced to pay connection fees in the thousands of
dollars to such a sewer/water system that we don't even want and also to have
to bear the cost of being forced to disconnect, decommission and/or remove our
septic systems and our wells at our own expense is bad enough and will strain
the personal budgets of more than a few of us to the breaking point. To be forced to pay another $35,000 or $40,000
or more per lakefront household (these projects tend to escalate in price and
invariably end up costing millions more than the projected figures) to pay for
the project is completely ridiculous and untenable. It will force many of us (and especially
those of us on fixed retirement incomes) to sell the homes we worked so hard to
be able to afford and to forego this rural lifestyle that we have
treasured.
Circa
1979, the Wainfleet Township Council, in consultation with the Niagara Regional
Health Unit, enacted some stringent laws regarding building and development
within the township outlining minimum requirements for building lot sizes and
septic system/weeping bed requirements.
Anyone building a house since then has had to comply with these tough
regulations at a personal cost of thousands of dollars.
Residences
built prior to 1979 were "grandfathered". Those of us who reside in these
"grandfathered" properties (I am such a property owner, being a
resident in Wainfleet since July, 1972) have upgraded and maintained our septic
systems as it has become necessary, at our own expense. After all, our own health depends on it. Admitedly, many of our properties are too
small to bring our systems into full compliance with today's building codes but
that does not mean that our systems, kept in good repair, are unsafe or
dangerous.
Further,
a lot of us have installed water treatment systems (again at our own expense)
that provide safe drinking water. When
the wells were tested for the EA, the water was extracted ahead of these
purification systems, sometimes indicating "problems" which have
already been taken care of by the water purification systems.
A
case in point: Joe Zold, a retired
highschool teacher from Welland, and his wife Patricia bought a building lot
out here (at 11310
Lakefield Cr.) a few years back and built a house. He "jumped through all the hoops"
and complied fully with all the township's and the Regional Health Unit's
mandates for the installation of his (approved) septic system. This cost him thousands of dollars. He then spent thousands more to install a
water treatment/purification system in his home. His water tests better than Port Colborne's
city (treated) water. Patricia is highly
allergic to chlorine (which is used in Port Colborne's water treatment). Joe and Patricia are now being told that they
will have to decommission and remove all this at their expense and bear their
share of the cost of this water/sewer project plus the cost of hooking up to it
and Patricia won't even be able to drink, brush her teeth or bathe in that
water.
Unfortunately, some areas of Wainfleet
contain some "seasonal" cottages with inadequate septic systems which
are stressed during the summer months when seasonal renters (usually "city
folks" who have no concept of septic systems and their workings) swoop
down on them and abuse the systems. Had
the Council and the Niagara Regional Health Unit been doing their job all these
years in policing these "problem" properties instead of turning a blind
eye, the "problems" possibly accruing from this abuse would probably
be a lot easier to deal with at this stage of the game. The Wainfleet Township Council has also, in
the last few years, allowed rezoning of some agricultural lands and
"cottage" properties to "rural residential" (year round
occupancy). Now, we the scapegoat
lakefront property owners are being forced to pay, and to pay dearly, for their
mistakes. Meanwhile, the mayor and his
councilors all live inland and are spared any expense which will accrue from
this project.
Regardless,
it is not too late to start enforcing laws that already exist to force those
"problem" properties to comply and if that is impossible, then to
shut them down. This would be much less
costly than a multi-million dollar project that few of us lakefront property
owners want or can afford.
Again
I stress that the Environmental Assessment that the Townhip has carried out has
not addressed the source of contamination of groundwater and aquifers and
lakewater within the township's boundaries.
All it did was to test some wells along the lakefront and finding some
of them "polluted", jumped to the conclusion that the septic systems
of lakefront property owners must be the root cause of this pollution. The proposed sewer and water project may
provide us with safe drinking water (although in the wake of the Walkerton
fiasco, there is no guarantee of that and I for one would much rather take
responsibility for my own water/sewer treatment than to rely on Port Colborne
and the Regional Government to provide me with "safe" drinking water)
but the cost of this project, if it is to be borne by us, the 1365 or so
lakefront property owners, is completely unaffordable for many of us and will
drive us from our homes. Also, should
other factors (as yet untested for and thus undertemined) be responsible for
the poor quality of ground water and well water, this project does nothing to
address those causes or to attempt to improve and/or rectify those conditions.
We
must also take into account that should this project be realised, then lot-size
restraints will go by the board and builders and developers will be allowed to
develop and build on virtually any size lot.
Our resident population in Wainfleet has remained at about 6400 for
years. We enjoy a quality of life, in
our rural setting, that is getting harder and harder to find anywhere. We have a lot of wildlife including many
species of songbirds, deer, wild turkey, migratory birds, fish, etc... The ecosystem within the township is fragile
and cannot withstand the strain of added population density. Lake Erie itself is already stressed during
the summer months by the influx of "tourists" and "summer
visitors" with all their motor boats and "jet skis" that invade
its waters. The air quality is already
stressed by the pollution from the exhaust of cars, boat motors, lawnmowers,
ATV's, etc. More development means more
people (usually "city" people who have no clue as to the sensitivity
of the rural environment and ecology), more cars, more boats, more lawnmowers,
more spraying of poisons to control weeds and spiders, more pollution. Of course, more development also puts more
tax revenue into the Township Council's coffers...
The
Environmental Assessment, to the best of my knowledge, also has not addressed
the possible impact on our lands, water, air, flora and fauna once the
contractors start blasting through bedrock in order to lay their pipelines. Watersheds may be diverted. Seismic events may occur that could create
geological fault lines or disturb already existing ones with who knows what
consequences? Drilling a few test holes
into the bedrock along the proposed trench sites cannot determine what can
happen a few meters away once the drilling and blasting starts. And who knows how many First Nations' graves
will be disturbed if not desecrated in the process? This whole area was a burial ground for many
First Nations tribes in centuries past.
I
feel very strongly that the Wainfleet Township Council has done a very poor job
of this so-called "Environmental Assessment". Impact on the environment and infrastructure
has been ignored. Search and testing for
actual causes of pollutants have not been done.
We,
the year-round lakefront residents of Wainfleet, are willing to take whatever
steps are necessary to improve our septic systems. Most of us have already done so. Most of us are already treating our well
water with many forms of approved water treatment systems purchased at our own
cost. With a little education and urging,
those of us who aren't doing so can be convinced to do so. What we ask is that any Environmental
Assessment carried on within our township's boundaries be done in an impartial
manner focusing on the whole township and the impact that such a project and
its far-reaching ramifications will have on all its ecosystem, watershed,
geology, wildlife and greenspace sustainability, quality of life, etc., instead
of focusing solely on the lakefront properties and making scapegoats of us,
blaming us for ills that may well be caused by many other factors (eg. the
feces of ubiquitous over-abundant and ever-increasing Canada Goose polulations
in our township and the run-off from the soil of pig and other livestock farms,
township landfill sites, etc., after heavy rains) over which we, the lakefront
property owners, have no control but which, if identified, could possibly be
remedied in a much less environmentally obtrusive manner at a much more
realistic and affordable cost while preserving our rural community lifestyle
that we cherish and wish to protect.
We
don't need sewers and water (of questionable quality) from Port Colborne. What we need is a real and honest assessment
of actual causes of ground water, well water and aquifer pollutants within the
whole township (if not the Region, the Province, the Country) and viable ways
to address those problems. This proposed
sewer/water project is but a "band-aid" solution that neglects the
underlying (and as yet largely undetermined) causes of goundwater/aquifer/well
pollution while allowing for further building and population growth within the
township (which I believe to be the Mayor's and the Council's real agenda
here). This can't help but have a
negative impact on everything that contributes to our quality of life. "Progress" be damned! The land can only sustain so many people...
Mayor
Gord Harry is bound and determined to shove this project down our throats
against our wishes, forgetting that he was elected to represent our will. Let HIM pay for it. We can't afford it.
Thank
you.
Yours truly,
Andre & Darla Germain
12 L 35 Harbourview Rd.,
R.R. #2, Port Colborne
ON L3K 5V4
phone:
905-835-2480
e-mail:
agermain@becon.org