Regulating Alberta’s intensive livestock industry on a provincial basis is the right decision, says an Edmonton lawyer.
“I think it will legally fly and I think that it will enable the industry to demonstrate its commitment to environmentally safe food production,” said Keith Wilson, who has guided many farmers through the permit process.
The government decision removes the burden from municipalities that were challenged with approving highly technical engineering proposals but lacked the expertise to properly evaluate them.
“We’re going to move away from decisions being made on fear and perception and move hopefully to decisions being made on facts.”
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However, Wilson wants to see continued public involvement in developing this set of regulations and standards.
“The neighbours need more than assurances from the developer behind the feedlot or the hog barn that there are enforceable regulations out there,” he said.
Wilson said municipalities will likely be expected to develop a land-use model similar to what is used when approving oil and gas projects.
“A municipality essentially cannot use its land-use bylaw or its municipal development plan to stop oil and gas related development.”
The province’s ability to impose environmental standards on industrial projects is not new.
“What is new is that we’re now going to treat agriculture like other industries have been treated for decades,” he said.
For the last several years counties and municipal districts had the responsibility to approve or reject intensive livestock building developments. Many incorporated the manure handling code to help regulate development approvals. Some exceeded the recommendations contained in the code and in some jurisdictions, the demands were so strict, no building took place. Others had a more relaxed approach and did not consult the code.
The result was a patchwork of regulations from one municipality to the next.
Wilson hopes the decision to go with provincial standards will keep agricultural developments out of the courts.
He estimates there are at least five cases before the Alberta Court of Appeal. Other developers opted to halt their projects rather than use the legal system.
He speculates a provincially regulated system will force producers to do a more thorough job of planning on the environmental side. That should include highly detailed scientific manure management plans that do not harm the air, water and soil.
