And the statement that will be read by Boyd Allen today at the press conference from the Coalition (with thanks for sharing that):

By mid-January, 2014, PEI residents had some time to examine the proposal to lift the moratorium on high capacity irrigation wells brought forward to Government by the processing industry and the PEI Potato Board. This became the catalyst for a groundswell of thoughtful and informed opinions which flooded an array of media across the island.

The Citizens’ Alliance of PEI sent out invitations island-wide to engage people and organizations to meet and address this issue. From this, and subsequent meetings, The Coalition for the Protection of PEI Water emerged. Our organization is composed of concerned citizens and includes The Citizens’ Alliance of PEI, the PEI Watershed Alliance, Pesticide PEI, District 1, Region 1 of the National Farmers Union, Green Party of PEI, Environmental Coalition of PEI, Don’t Frack PEI, Cooper Institute, Several Watershed Groups, Council of Canadians, New Democratic Party of PEI, Sierra Club PEI, Save Our Seas and Shores. Among the coalition members are a number of physical, natural, and social scientists. The aim of this community-based organization is to share resources, skills and time to offer an informed, unified public voice in a process in which this voice traditionally has limited access.

The Coalition for the Protection of PEI Water strongly opposes any lifting of the moratorium on new high capacity irrigation wells.

We feel that the monitoring and enforcement component attached to the existing high capacity wells is inadequate.

We feel that the data compiled to support the lifting of the moratorium is incomplete.

We recommend an opportunity for peer review of the water extraction policy, the data and the models used to support it.

We recommend the establishment and funding of a transparent, inclusive public consultation process to examine all aspects of this policy.

We recommend the establishment of a multi-disciplinary commission to develop a comprehensive, integrated water policy for PEI.

The Coalition for the Protection of PEI Water will be presenting our position on maintaining the moratorium on high capacity wells to the standing Committee of Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry 1:30 pm tomorrow, Thursday 26 February at the Coles Building.