November 2, 2007
Updated January 2, 2008
Updated January 26, 2008
Leitrim Wetland, an ecosystem unique in Canada, under threat by developer amid disturbing sightings of unauthorized drainage.
Please write to the provincial official responsible for Permits To Take Water, and to provincial and federal Ministers, demanding that no Permits for further drainage be issued. See sample letters here.
Taggart Construction, without a key permit from the Ontario government, has begun to drain parts of Leitrim Wetland for a new Tartan Homes subdivision.
Extensive works are being undertaken at what is intended to be Stage 2 of Findlay Creek Village subdivision (between Albion and Bank, south of Leitrim Road). Water pumps and generators have been at work, two discharge settling ponds have been dug, very large stormsewer pipes have been installed, ditches have been dug, and a roadway has been constructed, all in the wetland, before any Permits to Take Water have been obtained. Water has also been observed being discharged into Findlay Creek. Please see photos here [sorry no longer available]. (See also a Backgrounder on illegal water-taking at Leitrim and elsewhere by the same developer.)
The Friends of Leitrim have documented evidence of activities since October 2007. The developer’s most recent Permit To Take Water expired on September 18, 2007. As a result of complaints, the Ministry of the Environment has issued a Provincial Officer’s Order to the developers, prohibiting them from taking more than the legal maximum of 50,000 liters/day and requiring them to provide weekly monitoring reports. The file has also been forwarded to the Ministry’s Investigation and Enforcement Branch for their consideration for enforcement action, as well as to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans for possible violations of the Fisheries Act.
A Permit To Take Water through 2008 is still pending – for up to 17 million litres/day. This application was posted on September 6 on the Environmental Bill of Rights web site (EBR No. 010-1607). The Sierra Club of Canada and the Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital have filed objections.
A second application, also for 17 million litres/day, was posted on November 29 (EBR No. 010-2230). This proposal would extend the water-taking to the end of 2017. Mid-December, we received word that this second application was withdrawn and would be put forward again in the Spring.)
Yet another application was filed on December 19, 2007. It is for up to 32 million litres/day until September 2007. Because it is for less than a year, it is not posted on the E BR registry and no leave to appeal can be sought.
None of these permits have been issued to date. Yet these major works have gone on. It is very important that the official responsible and the various Ministers hear from as many people as possible why these Permits should not be granted. Please find some sample letters here (updated).
Removing water from the development site poses an imminent threat to Leitrim Wetland, which is supposed to be protected as a Provincially Significant Wetland.
Dr. Clarke Topp, one of Canada’s foremost soil physicists, took measurements on-site and concluded unambiguously that drainage for the construction of Stage 1 of the Findlay Creek Village subdivision has already impaired the function of the part of Leitrim Wetland that was to be protected in perpetuity. Moreover, he estimates that further drainage will severely lower the water table of the wetland in a matter of months, not years. Dr. Topp’s work validates the concerns expressed by independent experts including representatives of Natural Resources Canada that the studies done by the developer are inadequate. For more information and his report, please see the Backgrounder on Dr. Topp’s findings. Harm to this portion of the wetland will also be felt in the federally-owned portion, west of Albion Road.
A Wetland without water is no longer a Wetland.
Leitrim Wetland is an unparalleled natural wonder in Canada. It is home to myriad rare and unusual species. It is potential habitat for Blanding’s Turtle, a Threatened Species under both federal and provincial legislation. Several specimens were recently spotted less than four kilometers away, within the boundaries of the historic Leitrim Wetland. Here is a Backgrounder on Blanding’s Turtle at Leitrim. Another section of this web site has more background on the significance of Leitrim Wetland.
Findlay Creek, which runs through the Leitrim Wetland, is one of the few remaining cool water streams in Ottawa capable of sustaining a trout population. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources stocks it with brown trout. The creek is also an important headwater stream in the South Nation River watershed system. Negative impacts on Leitrim Wetland will reduce base flow levels in Findlay Creek, endangering the Creek’s habitat for trout and other species.
The construction of Findlay Creek Village housing subdivision, and any other construction projects, must not harm Leitrim Wetland. The Federal and Provincial Governments have an obligation to ensure that regulations to protect important wetlands are respected.
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment must:
> Immediately issue a stop-work order on the site.
> Respect the provisions of the Planning Act and the Provincial Policy Statement regarding the protection of wetlands.
> Require additional studies on the hydrogeology, to be peer-reviewed by independent experts and Natural Resources Canada, and allow no work to proceed without unanimous agreement that the wetland will not be compromised.
The Departments of Fisheries and Oceans, Transport and Environment Canada must:
> Ensure that federal regulations for the protection of wetlands are respected.
> Ensure that the Fisheries Act is enforced to protect the fish habitat of both Findlay Creek and Leitrim Wetland.
If you want to help protect Leitrim Wetland from destruction, please write to the government representatives below:
Ontario Ministry of the Environment:
The Honourable John Gerretsen, Minister | Email: minister ( at ) ene.gov.on.ca
Peter Taylor, Water Resources Supervisor | Email: peter.g.taylor ( at ) ontario.ca
Gary Roberts, A/ Reg’l Supervisor, Investigation and Enforcement Branch | Email: Gary.Roberts2 ( at ) ontario.ca
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources:
The Honourable Donna Cansfield, Minister | Email: dcansfield.mpp.co (at) liberal.ola.org
Fisheries and Oceans Canada:
The Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister | Email: Min ( at ) dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Richard Van Ingen, Fish Habitat Biologist | Email: Richard.Vaningen ( at ) dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Transport Canada:
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister | Email: mintc ( at ) tc.gc.ca
Environment Canada:
The Honourable John Baird, Minister | Email: John.Baird ( at ) ec.gc.ca
Please find some sample letters here.
For further information, photos and media coverage visit:
General Background about Leitrim Wetland
Backgrounder on Dr. Topp’s findings
Backgrounder on Blanding’s Turtle at Leitrim
Backgrounder on illegal water-taking at Leitrim and elsewhere