County Regional Environmental
Evaluation KO-Alition
LEGISLATION

For release: March 21, 2003

EVES GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS WITH NEW DIRECTION ON NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Ministry of Agriculture and Food

TORONTO - As a result of recently-held public consultations, the Ernie Eves government has made changes to proposed regulations under the Nutrient Management Act that will ensure the long-term competitiveness of Ontario's agri-food industry and protect the environment, Minister of Agriculture and Food Helen Johns said today.

The changes include simplifying proposed regulations and applying it initially to new and expanding large livestock farms. Existing large livestock farms would be covered by regulations in 2005. Other farms would not be covered until 2008 at the earliest, depending on recommendations from a provincial advisory committee and the availability of cost-shared funding.

"This balanced approach demonstrates that we listened to what people were saying," Johns said. "Thanks to the input we received, the proposed regulations will be clearer and more flexible for farmers, allowing them to invest with confidence in their operations while protecting the environment."

The proposed regulations will outline a number of key requirements to ensure environmental protection, including the preparation of nutrient management plans and strategies, restrictions on land application of nutrients, and minimum setback distances from municipal wells and surface water.

"This government is committed to ensuring clean, safe drinking water. Our comprehensive clean water strategy includes strong legislation and regulations that will protect our drinking water," said Stockwell. "The nutrient management framework will become a key part of the water protection approach envisioned by Commissioner Dennis O'Connor. We have worked with all our partners to ensure that the regulations are workable, well understood and fulfill this government's vow to protect the environment."

Other new directions include:

• Making July 1, 2003 the implementation date of the proposed regulations for all new livestock farms and those expanding into and within the large category.
• Setting up a provincial advisory committee that would provide recommendations to the government regarding specific nutrient management issues.
• Tying the implementation dates for any future regulations regarding all operations, other than for new and expanding livestock farms to the availability of cost-shared funding.
• Establishing a protocol whereby the Ministry of the Environment would have the ultimate authority to ensure compliance with the regulations through investigations and enforcement.
• Ensuring that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food would be the first point of contact for on-farm nutrient management issues, including monitoring.

"Farmers have, for years, voluntarily used environmentally responsible practices, and the government will continue to encourage them to do so," Johns said. "We're concentrating first on regulating the priority areas that people told us were important."

The government held 14 consultation meetings and 15 information sessions between November and February across the province on the stage two draft regulations. These meetings covered several areas, including mandatory nutrient management strategies and plans; the construction and siting of barns; training and certification for those involved in nutrient management plans and strategies and winter spreading.

Consultations were also held earlier on stage one draft regulations, which dealt with the content requirements of nutrient management plans, and the categories of livestock operations that would be required to prepare these plans.

BACKGROUNDER

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The Nutrient Management Act received Royal Assent on June 27, 2002. A series of consultations began in August, 2002 to collect input from a variety of stakeholders on draft regulations under the act.

Thirty-four information sessions and public consultation meetings were held across the province over the fall and winter. They were conducted in two stages, covering two sets of draft regulations. Hundreds of stakeholders attended and/or participated in the proceedings and Ministers Johns and Stockwell hosted many of them. The ministers also discussed the draft regulations at many other meetings with farm organizations, commodity groups and stakeholder organizations. More than 500 written submissions were received, including those under the Environmental Bill of Rights Registry.

As a result of this input, several changes are being proposed to the government's approach to nutrient management in the province. The changes would provide farmers with greater flexibility to comply with standards and maintain the government's key water and environmental protection objectives

The government is proposing to make the following changes regarding the implementation of the regulations under the Nutrient Management Act:

• Making July 1, 2003 the implementation date of the proposed regulations for all new livestock farms and those expanding into and within the large category (more than 300 Nutrient Units). A nutrient unit is the amount of manure that gives the fertilizer replacement value of the lower of 43 kg (95 pounds) of nitrogen or 55 kg (121 pounds) of phosphate.
• Making 2005 the implementation date for existing large livestock farms (more than 300 Nutrient Units).
• Setting up a provincial advisory committee. It would provide recommendations to the government regarding nutrient management issues. The committee would include farmers, environmental scientists, municipal representatives and others.
• Some of the issues that would be referred to this committee for further examination and recommendations are:
  • when the proposed regulations would apply to all types of farms except new livestock farms, large livestock farms and those expanding into the large livestock category
  • restrictions regarding the siting and construction of nutrient storage, as well as manure handling and application near municipal wells
  • seasonal outdoor feeding area standards
  • manure storage issues for existing operations
  • decommissioning of manure storages
  • nutrient application on tile-drained land
  • nutrient application on shallow soils
  • odour-related setbacks and standards
  • winter spreading restrictions for nutrients from the pulp and paper sector
• Tying the implementation dates of any future regulations, other than for new and expanding livestock farms, to the availability of cost-shared funding.
• A protocol would be established whereby the Ministry of the Environment would have the ultimate authority to ensure compliance with the regulations through investigations and enforcement.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Food would be the first point of contact for on-farm nutrient management issues, including monitoring.

Contacts:
Derek Nelson
Minister Johns' office
(416) 326-3861

Heather Capanelli
Minister Stockwell's office
(416) 314-6742

John Steele
Communications Branch
Ministry of the Environment
(416) 314-6666

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For release: November 26, 2002

EVES GOVERNMENT MOVES FORWARD
WITH NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS

Ministry of Agriculture and Food

TORONTO - As part of the Ernie Eves government's pledge to ensure clean, safe drinking water throughout Ontario, public consultation meetings on a second round of regulations under the Nutrient Management Act are being launched today. The legislation and its regulations will provide clear, consistent standards for agricultural practices that impact upon the environment, especially as they relate to land-applied materials containing nutrients.
More

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For Release: August 20, 2002

Context

The Nutrient Management Act received Royal Assent in the Ontario Legislature on June 27, 2002. As part of the Ontario government's Clean Water Strategy, the Act provides for province-wide standards to address the effects of agricultural practices on the environment, especially as they relate to land-applied materials containing nutrients.
More

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Following are the two documents which cover Nutrient Management in the County of Prince Edward

A By-law to regulate the location, erection and use of livestock barns and manure storage facilities for intensive livestock operations in the County of Prince Edward

Full Text

The Nutrient Management Strategy and Manual partially fulfills the mandate of the County Nutrient Management Committee which provides for:

"the development of a nutrient management plan for the County of Prince Edward to protect ground and surface water sources in accordance with the requirements of the County of Prince Edward Official Plan with respect to intensive livestock operations."

Full Text

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Royal Assent Thursday, June 27, 2002

The Bill deals with the management of materials containing nutrients which include materials such as manure that are applied to land for the purpose of improving the growing of agricultural crops or for the purpose of a use specified by regulation. Nutrients do not include any material that the regulations specify does not come within the definition. The Bill does not affect the application of the Environmental Protection Act, the Ontario Water Resources Act or the Pesticides Act.

Explanatory Note
Extracted from text of bill.

The Nutrient Management Act

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For release: February 7, 2002

TORONTO - Ontario Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Brian Coburn is posting a directive which prevents challenges to good municipal by-laws that regulate livestock operations. The directive is being posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights registry for public comment.

"I intend to issue this directive as an interim measure to reinforce municipalities' creation of effective nutrient management by-laws " Coburn said. "I remain firmly committed to making the passage of the proposed Nutrient Management Act a priority when the Legislature resumes sitting in the spring."

The directive outlines management practices that municipalities may require new and expanding livestock and poultry operators to follow, including mandatory nutrient management plans, which cover:

· Long-term control of enough land to properly and safely apply nutrients.
· Appropriate setback distances to features like wells, abandoned wells, rivers, lakes, streams, tile inlets, wetlands.
· Adequate manure storage facilities, in terms of capacity and structural integrity.
· Contingency plans in the event of a manure leak or spill.

Municipalities can also require the approval of nutrient management plans by a qualified third party.

The directive would be issued under the province's Farming and Food Production Protection Act, which reinforces agriculture and food production as a provincial interest while meeting the health, safety and environmental needs of the rural community.

In addition to the municipalities' good work, the directive recognizes the ministry's and industry's efforts to encourage best management practices on farms. It also builds on a Minister's directive issued on June 26, 2000 that prevents challenges to municipal interim control by-laws.

"While municipalities continue to be responsible for issuing building permits and land use planning, my ministry remains ready, willing and able to help them by providing technical staff to review farmers' nutrient management plans for new and expanding livestock operations," Coburn said.

"Environmental safeguards for agricultural operations are needed," Coburn added. "We need to do this at the municipal level while we work towards province-wide legislation."

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