The Manitoba government is trying to reduce amount of nutients being spilled into its rivers and lakes and so plans to ban winter manure spreading starting in 2013.
“When we entered office, we recognized that decades of poor planning, abuse and neglect of our lakes, rivers and wetlands had to stop,” said conservation minister Stan Struthers.
Another regulation will require all new hog producers to register manure management plans and have a minimum amount of manure storage.
The regulations are based on recommendations from the province’s Clean Environment Commission.
Andrew Dickson, general manager of the Manitoba Pork Council, said the announcement comes at a difficult time for producers.
“The producers, at least in our industry, are in the middle of a serious financial difficulty at the moment,” he said.
Manitoba’s NDP government has made water protection a priority since algae blooms covered a significant portion of Lake Winnipeg in the summer of 2006. Last fall, the province passed Bill 17, a moratorium on hog barn expansion in the Interlake and eastern Manitoba.
The government also announced last week that it will provide University of Manitoba researchers a $300,000 grant to study phosphorus buildup in the soil and how it relates to nutrient loading in the province’s lakes and rivers.
