Seven years after the original complaint, a farmer from Lestock, Sask., who illegally drained water was convicted and fined under the province’s Water Security Agency Act.
Gerald Faye and his company, GMJK Farms, were fined $11,200 in Wynyard provincial court for failing to comply with an order.
Agency spokesperson Patrick Boyle said Faye was fined $6,000 and his company, $2,000. A 40 percent victim surcharge was also applied.
Boyle said a formal complaint was made against Faye in 2007. After investigation, the agency ordered Faye to build and maintain 14 ditch blocks to close off ditches that were draining water off his land and onto adjacent land.
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Faye appealed to the Water Appeal Board, which upheld the order.
The agency eventually installed the ditch blocks in the fall of 2011, and in 2013 agency staff and conservation officers from the environment ministry found another problem.
“One of the blocks was breached and seven required repair,” Boyle said.
He said the case highlights what happens when landowners drain without obtaining the proper approvals.
However, complaints don’t usually go to the courts, he added.
“This is the last resort for us,” he said.
“Usually we get them solved at the first stages.”
The first stage is a request for assistance from a landowner concerned about someone else’s actions. The complainant must demonstrate that reasonable effort was made to resolve the problem. A written request to the agency can be filed if that didn’t happen.
The agency will investigate and either make recommendations or dismiss the complaint.
Boyle said the vast majority of concerns are addressed at this point. However, a formal complaint process is available if a resolution can’t be found.
In the Faye case, the agency went through all possible steps and ultimately ended up in court.
Boyle said this was only the second fine levied under the current legislation. The first was for $3,500.
He said about 100 complaints at various stages of completion are currently before the agency.
New agricultural drainage regulations and policy are in the works. An online consultation ended March 31, and more detailed stakeholder discussions will now take place.
Draft legislation is expected to be ready for 2015.
