A regulatory induced moratorium on Manitoba hog barn construction has been broken, but lots of clean-up remains.
Previous legislation only allowed hog barns to be built if they included installation of anaerobic digesters. That added about $1 million to the cost of a barn and made construction cost prohibitive.
With that restriction now lifted, other regulatory constrictions remain.
“We want this to work. We want this to be done properly,” said Mike Teillet, manager of sustainable development for the Manitoba Pork Council.
Farmers can now get approval for hog barns if they meet environmental regulations, but they still get bogged down by Planning Act technicalities.
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Teillet said barns that meet environmental requirements in places like Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta can go through their provinces’ planning approvals in two to four months.
In Manitoba, it will likely take more than a year to get a hog barn approved under present planning regulations, Teillet said.
That’s why MPC and others have been pressing the provincial government to amend the Planning Act, which probably won’t happen until the spring session of the legislature.
“We know they’re working on something. We just don’t know what,” said Teillet about government officials.
Unwinding the hog barn moratorium has been a lengthy process, culminating with the passing of Bill 24, which recently became law. The bill was contentious, with environmental activists uniting to condemn the industry and claiming it presented a threat to Manitoba’s water quality and to Lake Winnipeg, despite a lack of evidence that the hog industry was a significant source of fertilizer or manure runoff causing excessive algae blooms in the lake.
Dozens of people made submissions and appeared before the legislative committee that reviewed Bill 24.
However, the Progressive Conservative majority passed the legislation swiftly once the hearings were done and it became law in mid-November.
Teillet said he hoped the further needed changes happen for this spring because many barns need to be replaced or expanded. While many farmers might wait for the changes to happen, some have gone ahead and put in approvals now.
“There are a few people who are going through it,” said Teillet.
