Connie Tabbert
Editor
COBDEN — An Admaston-Bromley Township dairy farmer is glad to hear he doesn’t have to battle the Eastern Ontario and Soil Crop Association alone.
Stewart McBride was hoping to access some provincial grant money that is available from this association to help agricultural operations make improvements to reduce waste loading of waterways. This summer, he decided to have a concrete storage area constructed on the farm, which would store liquid and solid manure waste from the dairy barn and milk house.
He opted to construct this storage area on his farm, which is visibly seen on the Cobden Road just on the outskirts of Cobden, because there is a small creek on his property that flows into the Snake River, which flows into Muskrat Lake. Wanting to ensure he is not contributing to the poor water quality in Muskrat Lake, he decided constructing this storage area would be the best way he could ensure this.
Mr. McBride conformed to all the association’s requirements but was declined funding because this area was not deemed a priority, he wrote in a letter to Whitewater Region Township council. This grant is provincial money, but the priority watersheds are Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, the Bay of Quinte Area and Lake Simcoe.
Mr. McBride’s letter was discussed during Wednesday’s Whitewater’s council meeting.
“This certainly falls under the area we should be concerned about,” said Mayor Jim Labow.
Councillor Joey Trimm feels there is much more council can do than write a letter.
“A letter is the least we can do,” he said. “This is a gross oversight, a travesty.”
While the lakes mentioned in the letter may be of concern, “Our Muskrat Lake is every bit as polluted and every bit in need of support,” he stated.
He’s hopeful the other two organizations that support Muskrat Lake will write letters of support, as well as Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski. A one-to-one meeting with the minister is also something this council should do, Coun. Trimm added.
“This is completely…I wasn’t aware that there was a grant, and Muskrat Lake is not included? It’s ridiculous,” he said. “We have to do more than send a support letter.”
Coun. Trimm believes all the farmers should be getting grants so the watershed can be cleaned up.
Rosalie Burton, president of the Muskrat Watershed Council said a letter of support has already been written, noted chief administrative officer Christine FitzSimons. She also suggested Mr. McBride get a letter of support from the Muskrat Lake Association.
Councillor Allen Dick was also irate the grant was declined.
“Let’s go after this and fight this because we have got such a problem with this lake,” he said. “It’s just another indication of them backing away from the trough to say they won’t support this project, so I’m in favour of this letter of support 100 per cent.”
Mayor Labow suggested sending the letter to the Minister of Agriculture, as well as the the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Natural Resources.
Reeve Don Rathwell said the letter should be sent to as many ministries as possible to get the necessary help, not only for the grant, but to get the lake cleared up.
Coun. Trimm said he has asked on a number of occasions what can council do?
“Well, here’s our chance,” he said. “This is something we can do. We need to muster all of our forces in this one.”
Mayor Labow noted the next application deadline for Mr. McBride is Aug. 28, so it’s a letter that cannot wait until the next council meeting, which is in September.
However, Coun. Trimm said even if he does miss it, “we have time to get everyone riled up,” and hopefully Mr. McBride can re-apply for the grant at a later time.
Council passed a motion that a letter of support of Mr. McBride’s application be sent to the Eastern Ontario Soil and Crop Association indicating that the Muskrat Lake Watershed Area should be considered a priority area in making improvements to reduce waste loading of waterways.
Following the meeting, Mr. McBride said he is glad that Whitewater township is supporting him in this application.
Explaining what he’s doing, Mr. McBride said the cement storage area being constructed on his farm is to hold waste water and manure for at least a year’s time. He noted that at certain times throughout the year, the liquid in the storage area can be spread on his farm fields. However, when it’s not possible to spread, such as when snow is on the fields or it’s a wet spring or fall, it will be stored in this large cement area.
The grant he was denied will pay 35 per cent of the cost of the storage area only, not for any equipment that would be required, such as a pumping system, he said.
When he took the necessary courses regarding this storage area and grant application, Mr. McBride was never told this area was not a priority.
“It kind of ticked me off,” he said. “I followed all the steps I was supposed to, sent in everything I was supposed to, and they send me a letter saying you are declined because your area is not a top priority,” Mr. McBride said. “What made me mad was they declined me because Muskrat Lake is not a priority. We pay provincial taxes, so the money should be allowed. I could understand if they said they ran out of funding, that would have been acceptable, but to tell me I wasn’t a priority, oooooooo, that made me mad.
“Our lake is as important to us, as those lakes are as important to those people, so that wasn’t a good answer,” he added.
He has already started construction of the storage area, which is commonly called a manure pit, because unlike other grant programs, he can apply for funding once the project has begun.
Mr. McBride will apply again and he’s hopeful with the letters of support, the grant money will be approved. If he misses the Aug. 28 deadline, he can apply in October.
Mr. McBride is thankful for the letters of support he is receiving, because he was just going to give up on applying for the grant money, but this has renewed his energy to apply again.
