Advisory Planning Commission

1. March 2, 2011 Saskatchewan Food Summit TCU Place, Saskatoon SK AdvisoryPlanning Commission Planning and Food Production in Rural Saskatchewan By Adam Toth B.A.

2. General Topics • What is WaterWolf? • Why is Land Use Planning Important for Food Production? A) Intensive Livestock Development B) Grain Farming • Why is Infrastructure Planning Important for Food Production? • Roads • Water • Waste Water • Solutions • Conclusions

3. 1. What is WaterWolf?

4. WaterWolf • Advisory Planning Commission • Long termland use planning (Official Community Plans • /ZoningBylaws) • Capacitybuilding at regional level • Partnershipstoensuresourcewaterprotection • Move local municipalitiestoevidence-baseddecisions • Transparentframeworkforinvestment

5. The WaterWolf Planning District

6. Successes to Date • Advisory planning commission 15/06/2010 • Lake Diefenbaker Tourism Destination Area Plan (partnership – Tourism Sask) • Highway #219, Saskatoon – L. Diefenbaker, Tourism corridor • Chief Whitecap Trail 10/06/2009 • Currently working on a regional Official Community Plan and Zoning Bylaws for 37 municipalities ready for adoption next year

7. Limiting Factors • Live in land of primary agriculture • Fear of urbanization • Change isbad, always • Usuallyassociatedwith a CAVE (citizensagainstvirtuallyeverything)

8. Benefits • Setting a new model for Planning in the Province • Generates visions to seeprogresswhere none exists • The only option to move forward • A land use plan thatwill guide development for the region for the next 20-30 years

9. The Players • Federal Government - Funding • Provincial Government – Facilitation • Municipal Government – Administration of new bylaws • Land Owners – Want to know where developments will take place so they are not negatively affected • Developers – Want to know which geographic areas they can invest in without conflict • Business and Industry

10. Our Business Plan • Creation of Growth Management Plan and consistent Zoning Bylaws • Provide planning services to membermunicipalities • Common table for regional services • Developcapacity for the region • Developpartnerships for the region • Developprofessionalrelationships (ieengineers, GIS Mapping technicians) • Realizethatgrowthcanexist in Rural as recreationalcommunitiesaround Lake Diefenbaker

11. Our Current Marketing Plan • Todayspresentation • Value for dues, to ourmembermunicipalities • Sell the model to government • Provide one stop shop for developers • High profile in the province

12. Operating Plan • Workwith Saskatchewan Ministry of Municipal Affairs • Focus on WWGMP (District Official Community Plan), in house wherever possible • Identifyroadblocks • Look after municipal needs FIRST • Fee for service, thin staff model, contracting • Master Plan for Lake Diefenbaker, startwith DPP

13. Financial Plan • Stable billing to municipal members • PartnershipdevelopmentContractwork • Continue to lobby for corefunding - province

14. Management and Organization • Tenpersonexecutiveboard, broadlybased • Quarterly full commission mtgs. (mobile) • Tightrelationshipwithkeyplayers (Whitecap, LDT) • Relationship building – line depts., Crowns, • Continuallypress the envelope

15. The Challenge "Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?" asked Alice. "That depends a good deal on where you want to get," said the Cat. "I really don't care where" replied Alice. "Then it doesn't much matter which way you go," said the Cat.1 • Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), novelist and poet (1832-1898).

16. The Wall • WaterWolf has approx. 270 councilors • In any one year, 45 – 170 are up for election • Consensus is a challenge • Educating councils on the benefits of WaterWolf and why they should belong is Mount Everest

17. The Way Forward “Growth is inevitable and desirable, but destruction of community character is not. The question is not whether your part of the world is going to change. The question is how.”2 Edward T. McMahon, The Conservation Fund.

18. 2. Why is Land Use Planning Important for Food Production?

19. Generally stated “Land Use Strategies are intended to identify attainable conservation objectives and to minimize conflicts of interest.”3 David Anderson & Richard Grove, Conservation in Africa – People, Policies, and Practice, (New York, Cambridge University Press, 1987), 95.

20. Intensive Livestock Production has become increasingly intensive, mechanical, and requires more land than ever before. A) Intensive Livestock Operation Development

21. Quote from the Alberta Beef Producers “Although feedlots can range in size from a capacity of few hundred head to almost 40,000 cattle at one time, the larger-sized feedlots now finish the majority of cattle in Alberta. About 100 feedlots with capacities over 1,000 head produce at least 75 per cent of the finished beef cattle in the province.”4 Alberta Beef Producers, http://albertabeef.org/industry/beef-production-chain/, accessed February 2, 2011

22. This means: If location of these developments are not planned in appropriate areas, landowners could be affected by noise, pollution, decreased land values, and overall, a decrease in quality of life. Since new food production facilities create a larger footprint, more of the environment and population will be affected.

23. Developers and investors want to • make sure they can go where conflict will not arise • Case in point: 36,000 head proposed feedlot in the RM of Rudy

25. RM of Rudy worked with us on identifying Intensive Livestock Areas • The RM held a public meeting, very few ratepayers were present • Developers take these identified sites for true value, ie. if this is an identified area for a feedlot, the feedlot developer is going to assume they can develop feedlots in that area Currently there is a court battle due to ratepayers’ dissatisfaction with feedlot location Rural Planning in Saskatchewan is relatively new and needs to be taken seriously so events like this can be prevented or limited

26. So Why the Court Battle? Intensive Livestock production emits waste products harmful to the environment, and noxious to the public. Now that they are larger than ever, this impact will be greatly increased.

27. Also • Since Lake Diefenbaker is our tourism opportunity, it needs to be protected • If consistent and appropriate setback distances are included in zoning bylaws, the environmental impact will be reduced

28. Intensive Livestock Operation Setback Distances So Far:

29. By Using Ratios 1000 A.U./3.2 kms = 36,000 A.U./X X therefore = 115.2 kms!!!

30. Fact is, this set back would be unrealistic. • Thankfully there are newer technologies to reduce these odours. • Still though, what would that optimal distance be? • Planning needs to happen • When people are informed and educated, development can go ahead smoothly. • Process

31. B) Grain Farming • Like Intensive Livestock Operation Development, Grain farming is ever increasing in size. • Farmers are purchasing huge areas of land that may be affected by farming practices (ie. Heritage, environmentally sensitive lands, etc.). • When no planning exists and the farmer owns the land, he/she can do what they want. • Case in point, the caragana tree issue in the RM of Fertile Valley.

32. Developer came in, bought land, and started tearing up caragana trees. • Rate payers relied on these for aesthetic look and weather/wind proofing. • If these could have been identified on a map, with provisions for environmental/heritage protection, this event could have been prevented.

33. 3. Why is Infrastructure Planning Important for Food Production?

34. A) Roads • Road transportation is the most common method of moving product from place of origin to place of distribution. • Trucks and heavy haul vehicles are very destructive on all types of roads, causing extensive maintenance cost. • With Farm size increasing, load size, and truck size are also increasing. • RM councils need to be aware of the impacts these types of developments could have on their roads. • They also need a plan.

35. Working with other RM’s is crucial to the planning process as it makes road prioritizing easier. • Having one section of road as primary haul in one municipality, may not be primary or have the need for primary in a neighboring municipality. • Making adjacent municipalities aware of large farm developments is a good start, and then road prioritizing. • Cost sharing is also important as the benefits of a well planned, and invested road will far exceed the costs.

36. B) Water • Food Production is also demanding more water than ever before due to irrigation for large scale production. • “Approximately 45 per cent of the province's population relies directly or indirectly on the water supply of the South Saskatchewan River.”5 • Water use needs to be planned and rationed appropriately. • How can we accomplish this? Ministry of Agriculture, http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=9a3dbb08-1ece-45a2-ae2e-570ba5b479ad, Accessed February 23, 2011

37. Grey water recycling • Consider new residential developments that recycle shower water, washing machine water, etc. • Rainwater storage • VerEco Homes – at Prairieland Park • This would at least start to reduce 100% reliability on source water for irrigation

38. C) Waste Water • Waste Water can destroy a food supply if not managed properly. • Leaking septic tanks can bring toxins to the surface thus destroying fields. • Waste Water from Intensive Livestock Operations (especially large scale) is very toxic.

39. Seepage systems can cause bacteria to move laterally and rise to the surface.  This will impact what types of crops you are allowed to plant.It also could move laterally into a well (for human or livestock or animal consumption) and thus again, total Coliform, E-coli, Streptococcus, etc. bacteria can be evident in effluent that comes from the seepage or septic or lagoon systems.Underground leakage could get into streams and create algal blooms and conditions that would contaminate the water and thus not be useful for irrigation. 

40. Are there better, more efficient ways to manage waste water for food production?

41. EcoLibra Systems

42. 4. Solutions

43. By working regionally, we can make better decisions on food production development. • Farms are becoming larger, therefore the governing force needs think regional and co-operatively. • Identifying land uses (both current and future) on maps is essential for reducing land use conflict. • Rate payers need to know where developments are planned to exist. • There are exciting new options for infrastructure which will limit health concerns and ensure environmental sustainability.

44. 5. Conclusions

45. Investors in food production need a clear, transparent plan for the regionsothattheycanevaluatetheirinvestment in the context of surroundingdevelopment. • We have a long way to go in building capacity in the region in terms of technical and professional staff whichcanprovide the background for evidencebaseddecisions.

46. For More Information Please Visit www.waterwolf.org

47. Thank You!

48. Bibliography Alberta Beef Producers, http://albertabeef.org/industry/beef-production-chain/, accessed February 2, 2011. Anderson, David & Grove, Richard, Conservation in Africa – People, Policies, and Practice, (New York, Cambridge University Press, 1987), 95. Carrol, Lewis, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), novelist and poet (1832-1898). McMahon, Edward T., The Conservation Fund. Ministry of Agriculture, http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=9a3dbb08-1ece-45a2-ae2e-570ba5b479ad, Accessed February 23, 2011.