Posted on December 13, 2016
By Ian Adams, Simcoe.com
The province has turned down Wasaga Beach’s request to dredge the mouth of the Nottawasaga River sooner than later, with officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry telling the town it’s not an emergency situation.
Wasaga Beach recently applied for a permit to dredge the mouth, which has been narrowed in recent weeks from sedimentation, immediately.
The town’s public works director, Kevin Lalonde, told committee of the whole at its Nov. 1 meeting the mouth had become so silted in that it presents a danger to boaters trying to navigate the river.
The silting would also force the OPP and Wasaga Beach Fire Department to transport their boats to either Collingwood or Lafontaine in case they needed to launch to respond to an emergency on the water.
Town officials also suggest if the river is not dredged, the buildup of silt at the mouth could lead to an ice jam in the spring, potentially backing up the river and damaging private property upstream.
Ministry officials told the town in early December that it would not approve an emergency permit to dredge before winter. The town’s CAO said he hopes the municipality can change the ministry’s mind.
“The town is working with the (ministry) in an effort to meet their requirements so that the application to dredge can be expedited,” George Vadeboncoeur told Simcoe.com.
Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson entered the fray Dec. 8, calling on the provincial government to not only approve the dredging, but also to pony up the estimated $100,000 cost.
“Why is the municipality faced with footing the bill for dredging when (the river) is a provincial responsibility?” Wilson asked during Question Period.
Natural Resources and Forestry Minister Kathryn McGarry told the legislature ministry officials had assessed the situation and determined “there is not an imminent threat of flooding, nor an emergency situation at this time.”
McGarry said an environmental assessment would be needed to determine the impact on lake sturgeon, water flow and shoreline erosion.
“(Dredging) can be highly disruptive to important habitat and natural conditions,” she said, adding weather conditions can also contribute to the “natural process of washing out the accumulated sediment.”
Wilson criticized the minister for her answer, stating town officials have been hearing “this blah, blah, blah, blah, blah for several years. The speaking notes haven’t changed, no matter who the minister is…. It’s clear to everyone, except the (ministry), that it’s time to dredge the river again.”
Mayor Brian Smith, meanwhile, remains hopeful an agreement can be worked out.
“They haven’t said a flat-out no yet. They simply ask for a lot more information: why we need it, why it’s urgent that we need it now and can’t look at it in the spring,” Smith said.
Smith said the town has a valid argument, based on what town officials say could happen in the spring. He’ll be meeting with the minister early in the new year at the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association conference to reinforce the town’s argument.
“If we can’t do this dredging, and there’s flooding in the spring, the town will be looking to the ministry to help with those costs, and it will be a lot more than $100,000,” he said. “It is their waterway, they are responsible for it, and I believe they should be contributing.”
The town is still working through an environmental assessment process on a plan to dredge sections of the river, and a draft environmental study report is currently under review by the ministry.
Source: Simcoe.com
