Minister expects moratorium on high-capacity wells for agriculture will stay in place

When P.E.I.'s new Water Act is proclaimed, which is expected this spring, it will likely still include a moratorium on high-capacity wells for irrigation, says Environment Minister Brad Trivers.

"In the current draft of the water withdrawal regulations we are explicitly putting moratorium on high-capacity wells for agriculture," Trivers told CBC's Island Morning Friday

"In the second draft I expect that to remain."

Thursday, following a presentation to the legislature's environmental sustainability committee by senior bureaucrats, Trivers said he was still looking for input from that committee before making a decision.

Farmers lobbying for irrigation

Agriculture is the only sector that is banned from drilling high-capacity wells in the province.

The moratorium has been in place since 2002. The P.E.I. Potato Board has been lobbying to have it lifted. In a submission on the draft regulations in November, the board said the moratorium "infringes on the rights of Island farmers" and "would be very hard to defend if challenged."

"Our position on the moratorium has always been the same, is we support the moratorium and we also support removal of the moratorium if it can be done responsibly.… Our position has always been that if it can be used responsibly and managed for irrigation, that we would support removal of the moratorium," said Greg Donald with the P.E.I. Potato Board.

In my personal opinion it is a little bit unfair that only agriculture is not allowed to have high-capacity wells.— Environment Minister Brad Trivers

"I'm not a scientist … and I'm a strong believer that we have sound information and evidence from the experts. If the experts say that it can be done responsibly, then that's what we support … if the proper information is there that it can be done responsibly, then I guess the question would be why is the moratorium still in place?"

Ron Maynard, the vice-president of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture, agrees.

"We are in favour of the responsible lifting of the moratorium with due science in place," he said.

"So let's do the research and gain the information so that we can lift the moratorium and give food an important place in this whole thing. Farmers are frustrated that washing trucks is more important than producing food, so that's a very sore point for farmers … there are high-capacity wells continuing to be allowed and yet not for agriculture, not for production of food."

'Water is a complex thing'

Trivers said he does not have a legal opinion on whether the moratorium would hold up in court, and said he understands the concerns.

"In my personal opinion it is a little bit unfair that only agriculture is not allowed to have high-capacity wells," he said.

"But once again, you don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. It is unfair, in my opinion, but we have to be very cautious with how we move forward."

The message from the public during consultations on the Water Act was very clear, said Trivers. Water is very precious, government was told, and nothing should be done to endanger it.

The science shows that groundwater is not threatened by current practices, said Trivers, but more research is needed on further uses.

"Water is a complex thing," he said.

"Our rules say we're only allowed to use 35 per cent of the groundwater recharge. If you look at a full year we have enough water. However, of course as we know, the groundwater doesn't recharge evenly across the whole year. It's mostly in the spring and the fall."

Farmers would be looking to pump most of their water for irrigation in the summer, when the recharge rate is low, he said.

Trivers hopes the second draft of regulations can be finalized soon, and the Water Act can then be proclaimed in about four months.

New research could still see the moratorium eventually lifted, he said.

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