CONFIRMED
PRESENTATION
PRÉSENTATION
Championnat international de labour 2003
Chair Thompson introduced
presenters, Gordon and Ann Munroe, Co-Chairs of the Rural Expo 2003, The Lanark
County International Plowing Match and Farm Machinery Show He also welcomed
Richard Kidd, Reeve of Beckwith Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Munro provided
Committee with background information concerning approval of the bid, the site
of the match, dates, some of the anticipated exhibitors, competitors,
participating communities and visitors, as well as the organization of the
executive.
Mr. and Mrs. Munro exhibited the corporate
identity by displaying the 2003 Plowing Match logo, and relating the slogan for
2003 “From the land comes the dream…”.
The Munros explained that the mission for the 2003 IPM is to conduct a
plowing match and farm machinery show that is in keeping with the best
traditions of an Ontario Plowmen’s Association sponsored match which is to
promote the development and knowledge of the agricultural industry; to showcase
Lanark County, its businesses and its citizens and leave a community oriented
legacy to Lanark County.
In order to meet the goals of the
organizers, the Munros explained some of the strategies employed to develop
public awareness, including establishment of a web page at www.ruralexpo2003.ca, and the use of
project management and control in the development of its budget.
Mrs. Munro indicated that
partnerships have been established with the County of Lanark, its
municipalities and the Town of Smiths Falls as well as the Lanark County
Plowmen’s Association, the Ontario Plowmen’s Association and the executive of
past and future matches, as well as the Lanark and District Maple Syrup
Producers and the OPP.
A promotional video was played which
was produced by a local videographer in partnership with the Lanark and
District Maple Syrup producers, the Lanark Federation of Agriculture and Lanark
Tourism. Mrs. Munro explained that the
Sponsorship Team has prepared a professional package for presentation to
potential sponsors, noting a number of large sponsorships received from the
Ontario Mutual Insurance Association, UPI, the Lanark Mutual Insurance company
and Cavanaugh Construction.
Mr. Munro reviewed some of the
fundraising conducted by the teams such as the sale of Cookbooks, CDs featuring
local artists, and some of the special events leading up to the event as well
as quilting and rural/urban beautification competitions and raffles.
Mrs. Munro noted some of the
challenges faced with respect to the movement of traffic on Highway 7, the need
for public transit from Ottawa, reaching the urban population that is
unfamiliar with the IPM, and unexpected world events. At the same time, she highlighted some of the opportunities of
building on the support and commitment of municipal representatives and
community members, and taking advantage of the geographic location of the IPM
in proximity to the Nation’s capital.
A copy of the presentation is held
on file with the City Clerk (ACS2002-CCS-RUR-0010).
Councillor Eastman made a number of
comments related to a number of other plowing matches, confirming that the
location for the 2003 IPM is a good one and that Ottawa has been working
closely with Lanark County and Beckwith Township as well as the Ministry of
Transportation. He expressed the hope
that there would be a commitment from the Province very soon as there are only
16 months in which to deal with the traffic issue.
TRANSPORTATION, UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
TRANSPORT,
SERVICES ET TRAVEAUX PUBLICS
UTILITIES
SERVICES PUBLICS
2. OSGOODE
GARDENS-CEDAR ACRES MUNICIPAL DRAIN INSTALLATIONS MUNICIPALES DE DRAINAGE
OSGOODE
GARDENS-CEDAR
ACS2002-TUP-UTL-0016
Moved by Councillor S. Stewart
That Committee recess for the purpose of
sitting as the Court of Revision under the Drainage Act for the Osgoode
Gardens-Cedar Acres Municipal Drain, and that upon the conclusion of the Court
of Revision proceedings, the Committee meeting resume.
CARRIED
Mr. D. Ryan, Municipal Drainage Manager,
advised that no written appeals have been received on the assessments
pertaining to the Osgoode Gardens-Cedar Acres Municipal Drain at this point in
time.
Councillor Stavinga referred to a comment
that was raised at an earlier meeting by Mr. Dominski of Stanislaw Dominski
Estates. In Mr. Dominski’s absence,
Councillor Stavinga requested clarification by staff with regard to the
realignment of the ditch and the extent this impacts on Mr. Dominski’s
buildable envelope.
Mr. J. Van Gaal of Stantec Consulting Ltd. confirmed
that this issue was discussed with Mr. Dominski. He explained that the drain has been relocated entirely onto
Albion Sun Vista’s property, one metre from Mr. Dominski’s property line. He indicated that it was recognized that
there is an impact on his future development of septic systems because of a
required setback of 15 metres from the bed to the top of the drain. In view of this an increase in allowances
has been provided to Mr. Dominski to cover for damages. Mr. Van Gaal added that septic system
approvals staff have indicated that should Mr. Dominski locate his septic
system in the front of the lot, the drain has very minimal or no impact on the
leaching bed. He confirmed that the
allowances provided more than adequately compensate Mr. Dominski.
In response to a request for clarification by
Councillor Stavinga as to the net impact on Mr. Dominski, Mr. Van Gaal
confirmed that the net impact as a result of allowances given to Mr. Dominski
is zero.
Moved by Councillor W. Stewart
That the
Court of Revision approve the Assessments as outlined in the Engineer’s Report
and recommend Council give third reading to the Osgoode Gardens-Cedar Acres
Municipal Drain By-law.
CARRIED
Moved
by Councillor W. Stewart
That the Court of Revision adjourn and that
the meeting of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee resume.
CARRIED
COUNCILLORS ITEMS
ARTICLES DES CONSEILLERS
3. HYDRO ONE major power outages
INTERRUPTIONS
IMPORTANTES DU SERVICE D’ÉLECTRICITÉ
DE
HYDRO ONE
ACS2002-CCS-RUR-0009
Councillor Eastman thanked Hydro One
representatives for their attendance.
Referring to the report, Councillor Eastman explained that his concern
relates to major power outages of hundreds or thousands of households and the
difficulty for residents to receive information.
Ms. Carrie-Lynn Ognibene, Senior
Advisor, Corporate Relations, introduced herself and Mr. Jeff Weekes, Zone
Coordinator, responsible for the scheduling of crews in that part of Eastern
Ontario, which includes Perth, Brockville, Cobden, Arnprior, Winchester and
Vankleek Hill.
Ms. Ognibene reported that the
windstorm of March 9th and 10th was the largest and most
widespread storm in recent memory.
There were about 160,000 customers without power from Windsor to Sudbury
to Ottawa over a 3-day period, which is more extensive than the peak of the ice
storm of 1998 in terms of numbers, and geographically, much more widespread.
Ms. Ognibene made a presentation on
the impacts of the windstorm and some of the improvements that have been made
to service in terms of communication and a new and improved emergency
preparedness program. A copy of the
presentation is on file with City Clerk (ACS2002-CCS-RUR-0009).
Ms. Ognibene
indicated that a major feature of the updated emergency preparedness plan is to
improve communications with customers and stakeholders and to coordinate with
other electricity players in the electricity market and the government. She indicated that there is now a
centralized call handling system in Markham and London. Customer calls flow in via a number of
emergency lines into Markham, which are handled by an agent. She explained that if an agent is not
available, there is an interactive voice response system which has some
intelligence associated with it (for example it knows where the call is coming
from, the customer’s account number, if there is an outage in the customer’s
area) and it will give the customer a message confirming there is trouble in
the area. The customer is instructed to
stay on the line if they wish to speak to someone, or they are advised to issue
their own trouble ticket, which means keying in the customer account number.
Ms. Ognibene
indicated that recently through the Distribution Operations Management Centre
(DOMC), power outage fax information is sent to the media and municipal
councils when there are power outages and that improvements to distribution are
being researched currently. She
explained that the DOMC monitors weather that has the potential to impact the
system. She reported the windstorm in
March was predicted within a half hour of reaching all the areas across
Ontario, as there were communications with utilities in the United States that
had already experienced the storm.
Therefore all the crews were placed on standby before the weather hit
Ontario.
Ms. Ognibene
reported that during the March windstorm there were over 500,000 calls received
by the call centre on the Sunday, most of which were blocked by the switch at
the call centre building or blocked locally due to high volume. Over 40,000 calls were fielded that day and
due to the fact it was the first weekend of the March Break, the number of
available agents on call was a bit lower than normal. Over 800 field personnel were deployed and local utilities and
contractors were called in to assist.
Mr. Weekes
advised that locally all available line personnel were working (95 of the 138
available), 34 forestry personnel and approximately 25 to 30 staff in the
office. In addition, he advised that
North Bay Hydro, Sudbury Hydro and Hydro Ottawa also assisted, and were
available roughly 24 to 30 hours after the start of the storm in the areas that
were hardest hit – Brockville and Cobden.
Mr. Weekes
explained that assistance was requested from other zones as well, but because
the problems were Province-wide, this was not available until other areas were
cleaned up. He reported that during the
storm there were approximately 35 to 40 emergency calls received by the DOMC,
and they became first priority for the Fire and Police Departments emergency
personnel.
Ms. Ognibene
acknowledged that customers had difficulty getting through and Hydro One
apologizes for this, but indicated no call centre would have had the ability to
handle the volume given the widespread nature of the storm. Fire and Police had difficulty reaching the
call centre on the special line due to blockage at the telephone switch coming
into the building. She advised that a
reminder has been issued to the Fire and Police not to give the special number
out to the public because this affects the level of service that Hydro One
provides to them.
Mr. Weekes
advised that in a situation where there is a storm of four to six hours in
duration, media notifications are faxed directly from the local office and in
the larger situations such as the March storm, the information is faxed in the
form of a spreadsheet to the DOMC, which is subsequently relayed to the
media. This information identifies
which areas are out, the number of customers, estimated time of arrival and
estimated restoration time.
Mr. Weekes
reported that in the new locator system (Outage Management Response System),
distribution maps would be available on the computer screen so that when a call
comes, it will highlight the switch that is out instantly. Ms. Ognibene advised that the Board of
Directors approved the Outage Management Response System last year. She indicated that with the purchase of this
new software and customization of the system, it helps pinpoint the source and
location of the outage and enables a quick and more efficient deployment of
crews. Ms. Ognibene explained that
every one of the 50,000 calls received generates one piece of paper. A number of customers now calling in along
the same distribution line during an outage triggers one piece of paper for the
dispatch of a crew because the new system puts the logic together. In addition, she indicated that the system
could be programmed with an auto-dial that can report back to customers. Ms. Ognibene reported that consultation is
being conducted in this area with customers in order to determine the best time
to be called with information to assist with the design of this portion of the
system.
Ms. Ognibene
reported that a new Province-wide 24-hour telephone numbers for reporting
outages and emergencies would be introduced.
She indicated that the previous 48 different numbers would be phased out
as Hydro One moves to a one number system.
Ms. Ognibene advised that there are three different numbers within the
City of Ottawa, depending whether the service comes from Arnprior, Winchester
or Vankleek Hill.
In order to
address the concerns from municipal officials about not being able to get
through to Hydro One, Ms. Ognibene indicated that if you are unable to get through
to the call centre, elected officials should call the Vice-President of
Corporate Relations during business hours.
She advised that a new after-hours telephone number will be made
available within the new few weeks, solely for elected officials, and if it is
necessary to leave a message, someone will call back within thirty
minutes. She also indicated that if the
outage is more localized and power is available to the elected official at the
office versus the Ward, On-line Outage Information is also available.
Councillor
Eastman acknowledged that the crews did an excellent job in a very difficult
situation, but with respect to communication with customers and elected
officials he commented that Hydro One failed miserably during the power outage. He did not believe that 100 operators could
possibly handle the volume of input with a one number Province-wide reporting
system.
Councillor
Eastman reported that he received calls from elderly people and families with
children reporting their power was off for 24 hours questioning when power
would be returned, and seeking help because they could not get through to
anyone. He suggested that Hydro One
take out an advertisement in the front of the Yellow Pages, as there is a lot
of confusion by the public in how to reach Hydro One. Even the improved system of dialing in the customer’s account
number, may not work in the rural areas as many still use rotary dial
telephones. Councillor Eastman
expressed the hope that the interactive voice response works well, as this
seems to be a real step forward.
Councillor
Eastman questioned whether the City has a standard operating procedure to work
with Hydro One. He expressed the view
that Hydro One should contact the City of Ottawa automatically, the elected
officials and the City Manager for example.
In response, Ms.
Ognibene advised that in effect there are two call centres. Before the centralized call-handling system,
people were taking calls locally across the Province. In some cases there were contracts with telephone answering
services for after-hour service. She
advised that a private telephone answering system for after-hour service during
a major storm would not be able to answer calls with any knowledge or sensitivity
about the electricity industry. The
decision was made that Hydro One needs trained agents and currently there are
200 agents that can be mobilized in a very short period of time. Ms. Ognibene stated that the current system
is better than what was available in the past and 99% of the time Hydro One is
able to respond. She indicated that
Hydro One is currently looking at increasing the number of trunk lines into the
call centre to assist with overloads and increase the capacity to handle the
large volume of calls.
Ms. Ognibene
explained that even though Hydro One is moving to one trouble call telephone
number, this in no way hinders the ability of the customer to get a line in
because that one number uses all of the available trunk lines.
Councillor
Eastman indicated that he understood this, but during the March storm, each
time he attempted to reach Hydro One the message was “Sorry, all our lines are
busy, we cannot take your call at this time.”
If there had been a system in place that indicated there was no operator
available to deal with the customer followed by a request to key in the
customer account number or telephone number, and confirm that this will
identify the caller and recognize the power outage, this was all 99% of the
customers would have wanted. He
indicated that customers do not necessarily need to talk to an agent, they just
need to be able to report the outage and be able to say yes or no to a call
back when there is an estimate of time for the restoration of power.
Ms. Ognibene
confirmed that the technical options in this respect are being researched. She also reiterated that if Councillors are
having difficulty calling the call centre, there are two options. One option that has always been available is
to call the Fire Chief or the local Police and ask them to call the priority
number to Hydro One and get the information.
Ms. Ognibene advised that Hydro One has begun faxing information to
Mayors, and having said this recognized that perhaps the information does not
get distributed to the Councillors who represent areas served by Hydro Ontario,
and perhaps this is something that should be looked into.
Chair Thompson
indicated that he was certain the Emergency Measures staff would be able to
coordinate this function, once a procedure was put in place.
Ms. Ognibene
reiterated the option of calling the after hours number via the Vice-President
of Corporate Relations when elected officials cannot get through to the call
centre by leaving a name, telephone number and a brief description of the
problem.
Councillor Stavinga
recalled having to deal with these issues prior to her Ward receiving service
through Hydro Ottawa. She indicated
that she was pleased to hear of the new response system and the options for
elected officials to get information given her past experiences through the
1998 ice storm. She also expressed pleasure in learning that Hydro One is
following up with focus groups with customers.
Councillor
Stavinga indicated concern with regard to the priority numbers for Emergency
Services. She questioned whether the
instalment of additional trunk lines help with the blockage of emergency calls
at the switch at the DOMC. In response,
Ms. Ognibene confirmed that they would and these issues are currently being
reviewed by technical staff. She indicated that the emergency service providers
who called during the windstorm on the peak day (Sunday), had a wait time under
one minute, whereas other customers were waiting up to 50 or 60 minutes.
Ms. Ognibene
advised members of Committee to identify themselves as an elected officials and
the area represented when calling the call centre to seek information because
the call will be given priority. She
noted also that due to many changes in the names of municipalities through
amalgamations, sometimes the agents will not know the name of the new area as
they are not mailing addresses, nor are they identified on maps, and so it may
be necessary to identify the communities that the elected official
represents. Ms. Ognibene asked for some
patience in this regard.
Councillor
Stavinga emphasized that the ice storm was a lesson to all in terms of not
having updated information and contact lists, as she discovered at that time
that a former Mayor of Goulbourn was still on a list that was decades old. The message for Hydro One and the City’s own
Department of Emergency and Protective Services is that these lists need to be
updated on a regular basis and there can never be enough practice in terms of
emergency situations.
Chair Thompson
asked whether Hydro One would be able to provide Committee with a follow-up
report sometime in November as to the changes that have been implemented given
the number that are in progress. He
stated that he believed it would be helpful for members to have this whether in
the form of a written report or another presentation to Committee.
Ms. Ognibene
invited members of Committee, when in the Toronto area, to visit the call
centre and DOMC (Distribution Operation Management Centre), which reside in
Markham. She advised that the next step
in becoming a better and more efficient operation is to combine the DOMC with
the transmission or high voltage management Centre, which will be locating to a
new facility in Barry in a few years.
Councillor
Brooks indicated that in 1998, at the end of the ice storm he had met with the
Senior Vice-President of Hydro One and discussed the Provincial-wide emergency
measures. He questioned whether the
crew radio system is in place. In
response, Mr. Weekes confirmed that the crew radio response system or communication
to the DOMC and local offices is in place.
He noted that there are still some difficulties in the Algonquin Park
area, and the Cobden and Dunrobin areas, but he is unaware of any communication
problems elsewhere.
In response to a
further query by Councillor Brooks with respect to the broadcasting of accurate
and timely outage information to the media, Ms. Ognibene advised that there is
a media list, and that the two main affiliates are the local CBC affiliates and
CFRA. She indicated that if there are
other stations that should be added, to please advise. Ms. Ognibene confirmed that this effort has
been in place for sometime.
Councillor
Eastman indicated that if Hydro One is looking for an area to become involved
in research, to let him know, as he would be happy to assist in any way.
Moved by Councillor D. Eastman
Whereas the City of Ottawa recently experienced
extensive power outages as a result of a major windstorm; and
Whereas such broad-based power outages,
although not a common occurrence, are not a rarity either; and
Whereas those rural areas of the City of
Ottawa that are currently served by Hydro One were especially hard hit; and
Whereas those Hydro One customers that
suffered an outage during the recent storm were unable to contact Hydro One to
report their outage because the Company limits its customers to a single
“1-800” contact number; and,
Whereas City
staff and elected representatives were no more successful in trying to contact
Hydro One on behalf of our residents due to similar restrictions;
Therefore be
it resolved that the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee recommends that
Council of the City of Ottawa request that Hydro One examine its procedures for
dealing with major power outages in terms of more adequately responding to
their customers and providing current information on resumption of
service.
CARRIED
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
SERVICES D’AMÉNAGEMENT
PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY
URBANISME ET POLITIQUE
D’INFRASTRUCTURE
APERÇU DU PROGRAMME DE RÉGLEMENTATION DES PReLèVEMENTS D’EAU
ACS2002-DEV-POL-0002
Chair Thompson
declared a conflict of interest on behalf of Mayor Chiarelli, ex officio member
of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, as a result of his involvement
in a family business that normally operates with a permit to take water.
Councillor
Eastman commented that the Ministries of the Environment and Energy and Natural
Resources are involved in the Permit for Taking Water Program. He questioned why the City would want to get
involved, and expressed the belief that this is something that it should stay
out of as there are other levels of government that deliver the program.
Mr. R. Bolivar, Program Manager,
Water/Wastewater Planning, advised that the report brought forward is very
timely and no where in the report is it suggested that the City become
involved. He indicated that the
groundwater in the Province is changing rapidly and the Ministry of the
Environment and Energy (MOE) is in the process of reviewing the current permit
process. Mr. Bolivar advised that given
it is such a convoluted process, it is important for staff, Committee and
Council to understand the process, and the report has helped to clarify this and
frame the role for the municipality. He
noted that it is important to understand the process, and how it affects the
City’s residents. In addition, because
the Province is undergoing an exhaustive review procedure, it is necessary to
understand it so that the City can provide ongoing input. He confirmed that City staff has provided
comments and recommendations on a number of the Ministry of the Environment and
Energy's (MOE’s) initiatives, including the permit to take water program and
the well-drilling initiative.
Mr. Ken McRae, Director for Water
Conservation and Usage, Friends of the Jock River (FOJR), provided members
of Committee with a copy of a partial detailed analysis of the report produced
by Golder and Associates on the Overview of the Permit to Take Water Program
and a presentation which he had submitted to the Planning and Environment
Committee of the former Region of Ottawa-Carleton on May 23, 2000 when the OMYA
water taking permit issue was being discussed, a copy of which is held on file
with the City Clerk (ACS2002-DEV-POL-0002).
Referring to the last paragraph on
page 1 of the Golder Report, Mr. McRae quoted “This report does not include a
critical review of the effectiveness of the PTTW program or the development of
recommendations to improve the PTTW program.
However, these issues are discussed, where appropriate, for the purpose
of responding to the above motion by a Committee of Council.” Mr. McRae advised that the FOJR believe that
a critical review of the effectiveness of the PTTW program is necessary in
order to properly understand the many associated problems associated, and such
understanding is necessary to facilitate the development of recommendations to
improve it.
Referring to the documents that he
distributed, Mr. McRae indicated that they point to numerous cases whether the
MOE has been doing a very poor job of administering water taking permits, and
the consultation process through the Environmental Review Tribunal (EBR)
Registry.
Mr. McRae indicated there are a
number of detailed examinations into the MOE database of PTTW, which is
included in the overview report prepared by Golder Associates. He advised that there are PTTW that are
missing from the list and others that have inaccurate amounts of taking in
comparison with the postings on the EBR Registry. He noted that there are a number of them that are properly
indicated as being expired, and many cases where there are proposals sitting on
the Registry without any decision, which leads one to question whether these
companies are taking water in the interim, and illegally without a permit.
Mr. McRae advised that with all the
problems the MOE has in administering the PTTW program, the most pressing
problem for the FOJR is that they are grossly under funded and under
staffed. The FOJR urged Committee and
the City to consider lobbying the Province to do the right thing, and make more
funds available to MOE so that they are better able to carry out their duties
in regard to the legislation, regulations and policies.
Mr. McRae confirmed that the FOJR
negotiated a partnership some years ago with the former Region, City of Nepean
and Township of Goulbourn and Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) to
raise funds to establish additional water gate stations within the Jock River
Watershed. He explained that one of the
major problems with the assessment of the appropriateness of water taking is a
lack of information. More water gate
stations would help the MOE to make decisions based upon sound science as to
whether a water taking is appropriate.
On behalf of FOJR, Mr. McRae urged Committee and the City to enter into
such partnerships with the FOJR, the MOE and MNR and the Conservation
Authorities to help establish additional water gate stations.
Referring to the OMYA water taking
permits, Mr. McRae advised the EBR handed down a decision. He indicated that he was one of the original
appellants in the matter, but became worn down by the process, and subsequently
withdrew. He reported that OMYA has
appealed the decision of the EBR to the Court and the Minister. The FOJR and Mr. McRae are urging those who
have an interest, to consider communicating to the Minister that it would be in
the public interest that he not consider it until OMYA’s appeal before the
Court is finished so that he will have the benefit of this to guide him.
Councillor Stavinga thanked the FOJR
and Mr. McRae for bringing to her attention the gaps and inconsistencies,
something that has been voiced Province-wide, and recently through the
Walkerton Inquiry.
Mr. Colin Heard, immediate past
President of the Northwest Goulbourn Community Association advised that
this association evolved about 5 years ago when zoning in the area impacted
rural residents as a result of changes to the establishment of pits and
quarries. Currently association is
actively involved in the PTTW process.
Mr. Heard expressed the view that
there is a need for a coordinating body to bring this together. He indicated that the Golder report does a
good job of summarizing the process, if it can be summarized at all. He acknowledged that there is still a lot to
be done. He indicated that the process
is tied closely with zoning, and co-existing in the rural environment. Mr. Heard believes that the role for the
Committee and the City is to bring a focus to this whole process.
Mr. Heard commented that he was
encouraged by Councillor Stavinga’s motion that brought about the Golder
report. Over the last 4 to 5 years
tremendous steps have been taken in the PTTW process as regards the awareness
of MOE on the need to look at the accumulative affect of water taking,
enhancing the awareness of MNR, the RVCA, and active involvement of FOJR, and
now the awareness of the City of Ottawa.
Mr. Heard advised that the former Goulbourn Township Council was much
more aware and Walkerton has helped all of this along. He noted that it is not just about access to
clean water but availability of water at the outset, and how taking water
affects other potential users of water.
Mr. Heard indicated that the
importance to the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee is to continue to
monitor what is going on with water taking and for the City to influence the
Province. He acknowledged that recent announcements
suggest that more funding will be provided to the MOE.
Councillor Stavinga indicated that
the Northwest Goulbourn Community Association has entered into a partnership
with the Tomlinson quarry operation in the area, a relationship that started
out as very divisive initially. She
advised that this partnership could be looked upon as a model in the City where
there is monitoring of sites, not just within the quarry, but also outside the
quarry. The quarry operator created
wells on different properties where they are monitored and the information on
the quantity and quality is relayed to the community association, who retains
and presents the data. Councillor
Stavinga noted that this partnership would not have happened if the City was
the only player, and it shows the important role of citizens in advocating the
quality and protection of resources.
Acknowledging how far things have
come, Mr. Heard advised that there is a long way to go yet and this is where he
believes the work being done on the aquifer management and the Aquifer Vulnerability
Assessment Study, are important pieces.
He believes that this is where the role of the City and this Committee
is very important.
Both Mr. McRae and Mr. Heard
supported the motions being proposed by Councillor Stavinga.
Referring to the second last sentence
in the first paragraph on page 13 of the staff report, under the title “Permit
to Take Water Legislation”, Councillor Eastman quoted “The requirements for
obtaining a PTTW does not apply to the taking of water by any person for domestic
or farm purposes or for firefighting.”
He indicated that when looking at the table on page 25 in the Golder
report, it shows that 45% of the permits were for agricultural purposes.
In response to Councillor Eastman,
Mr. K. Marentette of Golder Associates Ltd. clarified that the intent is that
the permit to take water process allows for individual parties (homeowners
using private wells) to take water for their own domestic or household usage
and these are excluded from the requirements of the PTTW program. The program is essentially for larger volume
water takers (over 50,000 litres a day) and the data would not typically
capture the groundwater users of a smaller rural farming establishment. Referring to riparian rights, Mr. Marentette
explained that this is specifically excluded, and the reference in the report
means that someone living on a well on a country estate lot is excluded from
needing a PTTW.
In response to the example proposed
by Councillor Eastman of a 20-acre strawberry farm and use of an irrigation
system from a pond source, Mr. Marentette clarified that a PTTW is required
because this is considered a commercial operation since the product is not
consumed by the individual owner, similar to the case of the cash crop farmer.
Councillor Stavinga noted that
Committee received the submission by the Water Sub-committee by the
Environmental Advisory Committee. She
advised that they also reviewed the report and commend the fact that the report
is very informative in terms of the existing conditions, but mention concern
that there is no critical analysis as to what MOE is doing, nor does it provide
options as to how or where the City can lobby the Province to be an active
participant and have a role. She noted
that the intent of the report was more to get an understanding of the existing
situation.
Councillor Stavinga stated that Part
II of the Walkerton Inquiry Report was released and she quoted the first
recommendation “The drinking water sources should be protected by developing
watershed-based protection plans and that these source protection plans should
be required for all watersheds.” The
third recommendation was “That the Ministry of the Environment should ensure
that these source protection plans are prepared through an inclusive process of
local consultation and where appropriate should be managed by our conservation
authorities.” The fifth recommendation
that Councillor Stavinga thought was significant for discussion by Committee is
“Where the potential exists for significant threat to drinking water sources,
municipal Official Plans and decisions must be consistent with the applicable
source protection plan.”
Councillor Stavinga indicated that
through this Part II Report, and the Regional Official Plan and local Official
Plans that the City is in the process of trying to harmonize, the protection of
water resources is very important and the focus upon watershed management as
science based assessments.
Councillor Stavinga provided members
of Committee with three motions. She
explained the intent of her first motion is about managing water resources on a
watershed basis, which means taking into consideration everything that
influences our drinking water, whether it is surface or groundwater; that our
actions, whether directly or indirectly, can affect the quality of the water
taken. The motion also highlights a
number of issues that have contributed to heighten the concern about the PTTW;
complaints about the quality of the information; the permits; the Environmental
Registry in terms of proposal and decision notices; and the inconsistency in
how the Ministry applies the consideration of ecosystem function when proposed
water-taking permits are being reviewed.
As a consequence, it is difficult to evaluate historical trends, and to
assess how much water is being taken.
Councillor Stavinga advised that the
motion is not saying anything new, but these are concerns that have been voiced
across the Province and by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, the
Walkerton Inquiry and by other communities.
She referred to a resolution faxed from the Township of Oro-Medonte that
essentially says the same thing.
Given that the MOE has a statement of
environmental values that they will adopt an ecosystem approach to
environmental protection and resource management, Councillor Stavinga proposed
that the City of Ottawa should say to the MOE that it adopt a more holistic
ecosystem approach to watershed resource management – that is science based
assessments, water budget modeling and watershed approach in order to ensure:
(a) That
the cumulative impacts of water takings in a watershed are considered before
individual applications for PTTW are considered;
(b) That the
impacts of any water taking on the features and functions associated with the
ecosystem of an area are considered before individual applications for PTTW are
considered; and
(c) That
local municipalities and their Conservation Authorities are notified (because
there is a significant role for them to play because they are watershed based)
at the time of application to facilitate local community forums at which time
the matter can be addressed in an open forum and that such meetings and
notification processes be similar to those in the Planning Act.
She explained
that the City is asking the MOE to be a party to these things.
The motion further resolved that it be
circulated to all Conservation Authorities operating within the City of Ottawa,
municipalities in Ontario as well as to the Association of Municipalities of
Ontario (AMO), to be fully considered in the current efforts to provide
suggested improvements to Ontario’s water taking permit process.
Councillor
Stavinga noted that currently in existence is Part II of the Walkerton Inquiry
Report, the MOE is conducting a review on best practices for water taking
processes, and AMO is making recommendations and compiling a report. She referred to a meeting coming up in June
and the involvement of the Conservation Authorities to make suggested improvements
to the PTTW program. For this reason,
she asked that the motion also go forward to AMO.
Councillor
Eastman indicated he was prepared to support the motion, but hoped that the MOE
would be the recipient of the responsibility for “similar to Planning Act
processes” and not the City. In
response, Councillor Stavinga clarified that it would not be the City holding a
pilot meeting, but that there is a process when notifying people through the Planning
Act and the MOE should be asked to also undertake this inclusive process
and have MOE convene the forums. She
confirmed that the MOE has done this with respect to some applications for
quarries in her community, and that the intent is to get the Conservation
Authorities, the municipal planner and the public involved at the same.
Councillor
Stewart also supported the motion and commended Councillor Stavinga for
bringing it forward. She stated that
the key word in the entire discussion of water is the “watershed”. Councillor
Stewart emphasized that the City cannot continue to make decisions on a
piecemeal basis with partial information.
Referring to the OMYA decision in Perth, Councillor Stewart commented
that it would reasonable for the City to not want to be involved because it
seems so remote to the quality of life here.
But, in her view nothing could be further from the truth. The 1973
Interim Watershed Report in the Rideau Valley indicated that in the summer
months, 80% of the base flow of the Rideau River, in the City of Ottawa, is
dependant upon the Tay Watershed, the single largest sub-watershed in the
Rideau Valley where the enormous wetlands absorb water during the spring and
slowly release it during droughts into the River’s watercourse.
Councillor
Stewart indicated that this was looked at in the initial application to take
water from the Tay for OMYA’s industrial purposes but the problem was in 1973
nobody had done the work so that there was insufficient information to make
decisions of this magnitude that permitted the taking of tremendous amounts of
water indefinitely. She emphasized that
it is now time to take the holistic approach.
Councillor Stewart stated that she did not
believe this City wants to usurp the regulatory agency’s role in making
decisions, but send a message that they get the best information possible and
make sure that all the parties who will ultimately be affected by the results
of resource management issues like this, are at the table before these
decisions are taken. Councillor
Stewart agreed with Councillor Eastman that politicians should not make this
decision. She indicated that it has to
be a decision based on science and we need to ensure that the best science is
available for the time because we are “playing with fire”. She commented that no one notices water
until there is either too much of it in a flood or not enough in a drought, or
a tragedy like Walkerton.
Councillor
Stewart stated that water resources – ground and surface – are taken for
granted in the worst way in Canada where Canadians have much more than their
fair share of this renewable resource.
Fortunately we can now acquire the science and we have the resources to
make better decisions.
Councillor
Stavinga concurred with Chair Thompson’s proposed friendly amendment to the
motion that it also be circulated to the Rural Ontario Municipal Association
(ROMA).
Moved by
Councillor J. Stavinga
Whereas,
managing water resources on a watershed basis means taking into consideration
everything that influences the sources of our drinking water, whether it is
surface or groundwater; and
Whereas,
our actions directly or indirectly affect the health of our watersheds and our
water supply is affected not only by human activities local to the water
supply, but from anywhere upstream of the point of taking water; and
Whereas, a
number of issues have contributed to heighten the concern about water taking in
the City of Ottawa including public concern about the scale and number of water
takings; complaints about the quality of information in permits and the
Environmental Registry proposal and decision notices; inconsistency in the
consideration of ecosystem function when proposed water takings are being
reviewed; and
Whereas,
given the inconsistencies and deficiencies in the administration of the PTTW
(Permit for Taking Water) program the information generated by the program can
not be relied upon to enable informed comments on PTTW applications;
identification of historical overview of water taking trends; or determining
how much water is actually being taken or available in the future in any given
area; and
Whereas,
these concerns have been voiced province-wide and identified by the
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario in the brief submitted to the Walkerton
Inquiry in January 2001; and
Whereas,
the Statement of Environmental Values under the Environmental Bill of Rights
(EBR), states that the MOE is committed to adopting “an ecosystem approach to
environmental protection and resource management”; and
1. Therefore
be it resolved, that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommends
Council request the Ministry of the Environment adopt a more holistic ecosystem
approach to watershed resource management – that is science based assessments,
water budget modeling and watershed approach in order to ensure;
(a) That the
cumulative impacts of water takings in a watershed are considered before
individual applications for PTTW are considered;
(b) That
the impacts of any water taking on the features and functions associated with
the ecosystem of an area are considered before individual applications for PTTW
are considered; and
(c) That local
municipalities and their Conservation Authorities are notified at the time of
application for a PTTW to facilitate local community forums at which time the
matter can be addressed in an open forum and that such meetings and
notification processes be similar to those in the Planning Act.
2. And be it
further resolved, that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommend
Council approve circulation of this resolution to all Conservation Authorities
operating within the City of Ottawa, municipalities in Ontario as well as to
the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and Rural Ontario Municipal
Association to be fully considered in the current efforts to provided suggested
improvements to Ontario’s water taking permit process.
CARRIED
Referring to her
second motion, Councillor Stavinga stated that groundwater resources are
increasingly being recognized as important to the environmental and economic
health of communities and groundwater issues cross municipal boundaries and
right now as a City we are participating in a number of groundwater management
initiatives, including some of which are subsidized by the MOE for regional
groundwater issues as well as site-specific well-head protection studies. Councillor Stavinga indicated that the
motion asks that staff be directed to provide a report on what is complete and
presently underway in order to raise the profile and awareness to Council and
the City with regard to the efforts that are underway for groundwater
management. She advised that the motion
also directs staff to include information with regard to the City’s
participation and the role in external groundwater management initiatives,
including the Provincial studies and Conservation Authority led initiatives.
Councillor
Stavinga explained that this direction is not to identify just the initiatives
that the City is funding, but also those initiatives where the City is involved
in an active role in providing advice or guidance.
Moved by
Councillor J. Stavinga
Whereas
the management of groundwater resources crosses municipal boundaries; and
Whereas the City is presently participating in a number of
groundwater management initiatives including MOE subsidized studies for
regional groundwater issues and site-specific well-head protection issues; and
1. Therefore
be it resolved that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs direct staff to bring
forward a report to Committee providing an overview of completed and presently
underway City led studies related to groundwater management; and
2. Be it further
resolved that staff be directed to include in the report information regarding
the City’s participation and role in external groundwater management
initiatives, including Provincial studies and Conservation Authority led
initiatives.
CARRIED
Councillor
Stavinga indicated that her third motion provides the context of where all
these elements fit. She advised that
the Province has recently initiated significant groundwater studies, which are
being led in Ottawa by the area Conservation Authorities. Councillor Stavinga explained that this work
is being done on very specifically related issues, and there is presently no
Council approved and comprehensive plan or decision-making framework to
establish the priorities related directly to groundwater management. She added that the City is operating in a
reactive mode such that when there is money available something is initiated,
but it is not really in the forefront in terms of establishing priorities.
Councillor
Stavinga went on to explain the motion in stating that the 1997 Regional
Official Plan provides direction to prepare an Aquifer Management Plan, is
presently preparing a new Official Plan, and the 2002 budget provides funding
for an Aquifer Management Strategy. She
moved that staff bring forward a report to Committee on the intent of the
Strategy including the content and form of an overall approach and the intended
timing and content for submissions to Council.
Councillor
Stavinga clarified that the opportunity is to ask staff to provide the picture
frame and to give context to all the other studies that are being done and
provide Committee with the scope of the Strategy that is being undertaken. She questioned the timing in having this
come back to Committee so that Council can be prepared in its consideration of
budget issues, whether it be 2003 or 2004.
Councillor
Stewart questioned whether the departmental resources are available within the
current budget to do this background compilation, noting that it was not new
work and would be about putting together data that already exists. In response, Mr. R. Chartrand, Director of
Business Development, indicated that his understanding is that the work
involves a very brief report outlining existing activities and does not ask
staff to do additional work.
Moved by
Councillor J. Stavinga
Whereas,
the 1997 Regional Official Plan (ROP) provides direction to prepare an “Aquifer
Management Plan”; and,
Whereas
the City is presently preparing a new Official Plan; and
Whereas,
the 2002 Capital Budget provides funding for an “Aquifer Management Strategy”
is a major new initiative in 2002; and,
Therefore
be it resolved that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee direct staff to
bring forward a report to Committee on the intent of the Strategy
including the content and form of an overall approach and the intended timing
and content for submissions to Council.
CARRIED
Councillor Stewart advised that in February of
this year the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal made a decision on the
application to take water from the Tay River by OMYA Canada. She reported that subsequently OMYA appealed
this to Divisional Court and asked the Minister to set aside the Tribunal’s
decision.
Councillor Stewart indicated that Committee has been asked by appellants to
support their request that the Minister not rule on the appeal until after it
has gone through the Divisional Court route.
Councillor
Stewart moved a motion that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
recommend to Council that it request the Minister of the Environment and
Energy, Chris Stockwell, to delay ruling on the appeal until Divisional Court
has heard the legal appeal. She explained
that the reason behind this is that there are points of law in Ontario’s
environmental law. She noted that she
does not want to get involved in the substance of OMYA’s case, but believes
that the compromise was rather fair to meet the needs of industry and the need
for caution when it comes to important common interests like the availability
of water resources.
Councillor
Stewart advised that she does not believe that there can be a vibrant economy
on a degraded resource base. In the
long term, as everyone in the agricultural community knows, if you do not
protect your resource base, it is over.
In response to a
query by Councillor Eastman with regard to the status of water taking by OMYA,
Councillor Stewart indicated her understanding was that OMYA’s request was for
an expansion, so they are already allowed to take much more than they were
before they appealed. It is just a
matter of regulating the duration of the time they are allowed to take water
before they have to re-apply.
Moved by
Councillor W. Stewart
Whereas
OMYA (Canada) has appealed the Environmental Review Tribunal’s decision that
reduced OMYA’s water taking activities in Lanark County in the Rideau Valley
watershed, to both the Divisional Court and to the Minister of the Environment;
Therefore be it resolved that the
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommend that Council request Ontario
Environment Minister Chris Stockwell to delay action on OMYA’s appeal until the
Divisional Court has heard the legal appeal, so as not to undermine Ontario’s
environmental laws.
CARRIED
Moved by
Councillor J. Stavinga
That the Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Committee and Council receive for information, the Report entitled “Overview of
the Permit To Take Water Program Under Section 34 of the Ontario Water
Resources Act Eastern Ontario”.
RECEIVED
5. ENVIRONMENT CANADA‘S “WEATHER lINE” tELEPHONE
998-3439
SERVICE 998-3439
D’INFORMATION MÉTÉOROLOGIQUE D’ENVIRONNEMENT Canada
ACS2002-CCS-RUR-0008
Mr. Denis Paquette, Acting
Client Services Representative from Environment Canada provided members of
Committee with a presentation on the ATAD (Automatic Telephone Answering
Device). A copy of the presentation is
on file with the City Clerk (ACS2002-CCS-RUR-0008).
Mr.
Paquette advised that this line was first installed in 1973 and today there are
14 English lines and 7 French lines, confirming that there are only 2 lines for
Ottawa. He explained that 2500 messages
are loaded daily for Ontario. He
reported that Ottawa has the highest number of lines per capital, with 2
million calls answered for Ottawa, 10 million for the Province and 46 million
calls Canada-wide.
Mr.
Paquette advised that as an alternative to the use of the ATAD service,
Weatheradio is available 24 x 7; www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca
is also an option, as well as local radio stations and Weather One on One
1-900-565-5555.
Councillor
Eastman emphasized the need for critical weather information for farmers because
of the amount of decision-making that must go on very early in the day. In response, Mr. Paquette acknowledged that
there is pressure in Ottawa to add a line.
In
response to a query by Councillor Deans with respect to Weatheradio, Mr.
Paquette reported that it has been in Ottawa for 25 years, but it is not well
known as a source of information. He
indicated that the radio could be purchased at about $60 from Radioshack. Councillor Deans suggested that this is
something that Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee could promote and
perhaps a group purchase could be made through the Federation of Agriculture.
Moved
by Councillor D. Eastman
Whereas
Environment Canada’s telephone “Weather Line” provides invaluable service to
the farming community; and
Whereas
this up to date weather information is critical to many farming operations; and
Whereas
it is often impossible to access the information on the weather line because
all of the available lines are busy;
Therefore
be it resolved that the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee recommends
Council formally requests Environment Canada to increase the number of
telephone lines for its 998-3439 “Weather Line”.
CARRIED
Committee waived the rules of
procedure to move in camera to consider the Confidential Agenda 3, and carried
the item on consent.
ADJOURNMENT
LEVÉE DE LA SÉANCE
Committee
adjourned the meeting at 12:00 p.m.
Committee
Coordinator Chair
