With his fishing rod in hand, John Lysack ambles down a sloping path to the edge of the Assiniboine River. He plants his tackle box on the ground and casts a small yellow jig into the murky waters.
“Whatever I catch I let go,” said Lysack, 68, while fishing near the 18th Street bridge in Brandon, Man. “It’s not that I depend on it for food.”
Leaves on nearby trees are dotted with the soft yellow and brown pastels of autumn. A chilly breeze sweeps along the river, causing Lysack to comment that he’ll soon have to start wearing his winter underwear.
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It’s a peaceful moment, and the Brandon man seems unconcerned about the argument swirling about the Assiniboine River. The debate is about plans for a waste-water treatment facility to serve the Maple Leaf Meats processing plant now being built in the city.
“To tell you the truth, I haven’t been keeping up on it,” said Lysack as his hook arches through the air and plunks into the river. “I’m not too concerned about it.”
Maple Leaf and Brandon currently have a joint application before Manitoba Environment to build the waste-water treatment plant. An agreement is being drawn up that would see the city own and operate the facility.
Part of the debate is about whether the city should shoulder that responsibility. Dave Kattenburg, a concerned Brandon resident, opposes the idea.
“Will the city also assume liability for faults in the design?” asked Kattenburg, a member of the Westman Community Action Coalition. “The city opens itself up to all kinds of potential litigation.”
Kattenburg believes Brandon city council needs to pause for “a sober second thought” on the matter. He also wants the city to hold a municipal hearing that allows public input on the issue.
Robyn Singleton, the city’s co-ordinator of the Maple Leaf project, said it’s in Brandon’s interest to control the proposed waste-water treatment plant.
Singleton expects more industry to knock at the city’s door as the region’s farming economy diversifies. Brandon wants to direct those industries to the same area as the $112 million hog processing plant. They could then be linked to the same waste-water treatment, Singleton said.
“From the environmental side, it’s very, very much in our interest to ensure that what flows out of the plant doesn’t harm our ability to maintain our community and to grow our community.”
The bigger debate is about how the new treatment plant might affect the Assiniboine River, which flows east past Portage la Prairie. The city is studying that issue through the use of computer modeling. A computer is fed data to predict the impact of effluent once it’s discharged into the river.
“The modeling that’s been done to date tells us there should be minimal impact from shift one of the (Maple Leaf) plant,” Singleton said. “We are very confident there won’t be any problems, and if there are problems, although we think they’re remote, we’re satisfied we can deal with those problems.”
Singleton said the city will spend about $400,000 to monitor the river for four years. “That will tell us a tremendous amount about the river that isn’t known now.”
Bill Paton, a Brandon University botanist, questions the accuracy of the computer modelling. He said there are very few monitors along the river between Brandon and Portage to offer data for the computer.
“The model at this point is based on very inadequate data and a lot of assumptions.”
Paton thinks the accuracy of the modeling should be reviewed before a Clean Environment Commission hearing. That would offer a setting where experts can challenge experts about the validity of the science and engineering involved.
“The fundamental issue is whether we can trust the engineering that’s being done, the future indications from the engineering and things like this model.”
Meanwhile, Portage la Prairie has sought assurances that it won’t be affected by the proposed treatment plant at Brandon. Portage council last week wrote a letter to Manitoba Environment citing its concerns and possible solutions.
Portage mayor Glenn Carlson wouldn’t reveal what was written in the letter. However, he said his city wants its suggestions enshrined in provincial licensing for the treatment plant.
“If these suggestions or requests are enshrined in the licences or wherever, then we have no further objections,” Carlson said last Friday. “All we can do now is wait.”
