With one organization responsible for the permitting of confined feeding operations (CFOs), there are some who have asked why Ponoka County is even getting involved.
Those proposals caused some controversy among area residents with some suggesting the exclusion zones must happen, while others feel it’s a duplication of legislation.
Speaking to some of those concerns is Andy Cumming, director of field services-applications for the Natural Resources and Conservation Board (NRCB).
He pointed out that rules for CFOs fall to the NRCB, which provides approval of applications following requirements under the Agricultural Operation Practices Acts and Regulations (AOPA).
Despite NRCB being the sole approval organization of CFOs, Cumming said the NRCB will still consider exclusion zones in a MDP, as long as it’s clear and leaves little room for interpretation. A prime example of that, says Cumming, is that there is a third exclusion zone in the area where an application was denied and subsequently upheld during an appeal.
Cumming said Milk and Honey’s CFO application was denied in November 2017 due to it being within the Town of Ponoka’s boundaries, which includes an exclusion zone for CFOs. Milk and Honey appealed the decision and a special review was held in February. The NRCB board upheld the approval officer’s decision to deny the CFO application based on the town’s MDP.
“If something is proposed within the exclusion zone it will be an automatic denial on the approval officer level,” said Cumming. “Typically there is a review from the applicant on those denials.”
He did say that the NRCB does not get involved in a municipality’s planning, opting instead to provide feedback on a proposal if it includes an exclusion zone related to CFOs.
One of the requirements of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) is that a municipality must have a MDP and it must also be reviewed on a regular basis.
“It’s true that for CFOs the AOPA is the legislation that governs it, but it’s also true that part of the requirements under the AOPA is that any application conforms to the MDP land-use requirement,” said Cumming.
The permit and approval process for a CFO is quite lengthy. Even a cursory glance at the applications and decisions, which are posted on the NRCB website, provides a glimpse into what CFO operators have to go through to get the work done. Cumming feels confident that the process is one that works.
Along with NRCB and AOPA requirements, farmers must also follow Alberta Environment legislation. While most monitoring of these programs is reactive, dealing with issues on a complaint basis, Cumming said there are some operations that have continuous requirements that need to be followed up on.
“We don’t act alone with the other regulators out there,” he said.
Some advocates of exclusion zones have said there is an issue with monitoring, however, Cumming said that is not his experience. “Our inspectors do a lot of travelling to outside operations, as do our inspectors.”
“We cover hundreds of thousands of kilometres around the province,” he added.
One area the AOPA doesn’t consider is cumulative impacts of CFO operations, something some county residents have advocated for.
The AOPA was created in 2000 and amended in 2006 and there are 147 CFOs within Ponoka County with permits under the act.