Ontario under fire over water safety

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Ontario under fire over water safety
Critics accuse governement of dragging heels


Canadian Press


Sunday, April 27, 2003

TORONTO (CP) -- Three years after tainted tap water killed seven people
and sickened 2,500 others in
Walkerton, public health in Ontario remains at risk because of
government foot-dragging on comprehensive
safety legislation, critics say.

They're especially unhappy the government is breaking a repeated promise
to bring in a law this spring to
protect water sources from pollution, including contamination from
farms.

Such legislation was a cornerstone of the recommendations by Associate
Chief Justice Dennis O'Connor after his
inquiry into the in May 2000 E. coli disaster.

"Source protection was the cornerstone of Justice O'Connor's report --
the No. 1 recommendation -- and it's the
last to be dealt with by the province," says Jerry DeMarco, managing
lawyer with the Sierra Legal Defence Fund.

Last week, the government released an advisory committee report on what
the legislation should contain and
said it now planned to introduce a law in the fall.

"Our chief concern remains the length of time that has passed between
the tragedy itself three years ago, Justice
O'Connor's second report one year ago, and now we only have
recommendations," said DeMarco.

"We should have had by now strong legislation introduced and passed and
enforced."

Environment Minister Chris Stockwell denied the government has been slow
to act on O'Connor's
recommendations.

"We're working as quickly as we can," Stockwell said. "We delayed
nothing."

Stockwell noted the government has already passed a law on testing and
treatment of drinking water. That
should ensure safe tap water and help avert the kind of situation that
led to criminal charges last week against
the brothers who ran Walkerton's water system, he said.

But Rick Lindgren, with the Canadian Environmental Law Association, said
the Safe Drinking Water Act can't "fully
function" without legislation that ensures water isn't polluted in the
first place.

"Source protection is the key component of the drinking-water regime
that's missing," says Lindgren.

"It's long overdue."

The government has also passed the Nutrient Management Act aimed at
protecting water sources from farm
runoff. However, under fierce lobbying from the agricultural sector, it
has pushed back implementation of
proposed regulations until July.

That means anyone can get a permit for an industrial-size hog barn
before July 1, thereby avoiding an
environmental assessment, says Maureen Reilly of the Sierra Club of
Canada.

"They haven't protected us from mega-hog barns, they've declared a
mega-hog-barn holiday," says Reilly.

"They're messaging one thing and doing the opposite."

The nutrient management rules won't apply to smaller farms until 2008 at
the earliest

In his report, O'Connor wrote "it is virtually certain" that manure from
a small farm next to a town well was the
source of the E. coli that ravaged Walkerton although he did not fault
the farmer.

"There's a lot of debate about that," said Stockwell. "I can't say
categorically this small farm polluted the water
system and I don't think anyone's ever said that."

Stockwell said it's impossible to put in place complex rules in a hurry.

"To think this would go ahead within six months of passing legislation
is foolish. It's going to take years."

Lindgren said he's "quite dismayed by the back-tracking."

"We're really not much closer in terms of operational source-protection
plans on the ground."

                          © Copyright 2003 Canadian Press