Ellie Reddin and Ian Forgeron, speaking on behalf of SOSS PEI made an excellent presentation with 3 strong recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Protection from the potential pollution of PEI water resulting from oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Gulf, including the discharge of deleterious substances.

Recommendation 2: Protection of fundamental right to clean, safe drinking water, and the protection of the health of aquatic systems as the primary goal of the Water Act.

Recommendation 3: Continuation of moratorium on High Capacity Wells for agricultural irrigation, and non-essential uses; as well as, increased regulations for for industrial and commercial purposes of High Capacity Wells and to phase out existing wells gradually to the extent possible.

Don Mazer started his presentation to the EAC by pointing out that, “It’s appropriate that these consultations begin in Charlottetown, and to be talking about the Winter River, the source of virtually all of the water used by this City and its residents, businesses, institutions, worker and visitors. One could say that the reason for these consultations actually begins with Charlottetown and with the Winter River. The Standing Committee hearings about the impact of high capacity wells and the proposal to lift the moratorium led to the recommendations for a Water Act. And the Winter River watershed is the home of 14 of such high capacity wells located in Brackley, Union and Suffolk that operate all day every day of the year, pumping more than 18 million litres per day from the watershed to the City of Charlottetown. There is much to be learned from the experience of the Winter River with water extraction that is valuable for a new Water Act.”

You can read Don’s full presentation here.

Leo Broderick presented on behalf of the Council, in Summerside on October 13. He ended his presentation with a hopeful message: “There is hope – and that is illustrated by looking at the bald eagle. The bald eagle took a heavy blow from DDT. A pesticide that enters the food chain and causes reproductive failure. The bald eagle is a great conservation story. PEI now has hundreds.”

You can see Leo’s powerpoint presentation here.

 

Gary Schneider, Co-Chair of the Environmental Coalition of Prince Edward Island and Past Member of the Round Table on Resource Land Use and Stewardship, presented to the Environmental Advisory Council on October 8th. One of his first recommendations:

“We must face up to the serious environmental problems in this province. This year’s Speech from the Throne stated that one reason people love to come to Prince Edward Island was our “pristine” water. And when I take the Marine Atlantic ferry there is always an announcement about our “pristine” Island waters. Pristine is a lovely word, but when you have dead fish floating in rivers and shellfish dying in our estuaries, attracting national and international attention in a variety of media outlets, you’d have to have a pretty low opinion of visitors’ intelligence to think they would believe that. Studies are being carried out at UPEI to look at the significant amounts of nitrates and pesticides that are flowing into the Strait. We really need to start making the same progress on water that we are finally making on mental health, child abuse, drug addiction or other societal issues. We need to honestly admit there are problems and address them with seriousness and immediacy.”

Read Gary’s full text here.

On behalf of Cooper Institute, Marie Burge made a presentation to the Environmental Advisory Council on October 13 in Summerside. She recommended the following:

That the Prince Edward Island Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) insist the Government develop a time frame which allows for multi-layered engagement of the community; the PEI Water Act is too important and too essential to the future of PEI to be rushed through.

That the Prince Edward Island EAC engage community members specialized in clear language and ethical principles to develop a preamble to the PEI Water Act which reflects standards and ideals on which the protection of PEI water should be based, such as a common inheritance; a basic human and ecological right; and a public trust.

That the Prince Edward Island EAC be outspoken with, and supportive of, the Minister of the Environment and the Premier in relation to the incredible pressure on the Minister and Premier from influential circles, especially from those who realize that the Act may curtail their interests in some way.

That the Prince Edward Island EAC, aware that elements of the community will continue to think of water as theirs to own and use, even abuse, for their own private or collective gain, must design parts of the Act to address potential violators and redress the violations.

That the Prince Edward Island EAC, ensure that the PEI Water Act place front and center that the protection of PEI water means the protection of the land, air, plants, animals and the people of the province.

Read Cooper Institute’s full submission here.

 

by Don Mazer

We need a new conversation about water and about the human relationship with the natural world. And we need a new conversation about the meaningful role for all citizens in determining a sustainable water future.

The development of the Water Act provides us with an opportunity to have this conversation.

In current discussions, as in The White Paper (“A Water Act for Prince Edward Island”), water is often referred to as a “resource“ or “our most precious natural resource”. But this description reflects a problematic attitude toward water and the natural world.

– When water is seen as a resource, its value lies in how we humans can use and exploit it. We become “takers” and “consumers” of water, rather than stewards or guardians. We minimize the intrinsic value of water, and its role in supporting the healthy ecosystems required by all other species.

– “Our” water assumes ownership, and the right to do what we wish with water. But humans have no more claim to water than do the fish or the plants. We are part of a larger community of life that is interdependent with water. We have no special entitlement.

The White Paper reflects another troubling common assumption in our current perspective on the environment. Water is “managed” through a “risk assessment” approach. We come to regard certain levels of risk as acceptable (e.g. nitrate levels) and not as urgent issues requiring immediate solutions.

The risk assessment approach itself reflects a problematic relationship with the environment. The recurrent issues in our waters come from a willingness to accept just such risks: high nitrate levels, anoxic conditions, pesticide contamination, fishkills, dry stream beds. We continuously take unacceptable risks with “our most precious natural resource.”

The new conversation about water and the Water Act begins with a clear goal and purpose. In the White Paper, the goal is: “…to protect the quality and quantity of the island’s water and ensure that our water supply is healthy and sustainable now and into the future.”

We believe the goal of the Water Act should be “to protect and ensure the health of all aquatic ecosystems.” Only healthy ecosystems can provide the quantity and quality of water to support the needs of all human and nonhuman beings for all generations.

Making ecosystem health our priority requires that we adopt the precautionary principle in assessing risk: we have an obligation to protect the environment from harm whenever we can, even if scientific evidence is incomplete.

The Water Act should reflect key shared values. Water is a human and nonhuman right, part of the right to a healthy environment. Water is a common good and a public trust. No one owns water and we are all its guardians.

Ongoing citizen involvement in a transparent and informed process is essential in this new conversation, continuing well beyond the defined consultations into the development and implementation of the Water Act.

The Water Act is an opportunity to forge a different relationship with water and the natural world grounded in respect for what is truly precious to us. Our sustainable water future requires conservation, where we use only what we need rather than all that we want. We must be caretakers of water, and demand a Water Act that ensures the ongoing health of all aquatic ecosystems.