| Red River Floodway Hearings Start | 22 February 05 |
 Manitoba Clean Environment Commission (CEC) hearings for the proposed Floodway Expansion project began on February 15, 2005 and are scheduled to convene for 12 days within the following weeks, concluding on March 3, 2005. Four of the twelve days of hearings will be held outside of Winnipeg, in Oakbank. However, unlike recent CEC hearings, attendees and public participants will not have the benefit of a presentation by the proponents to open the Oakbank portion of the Floodway Expansion project hearings.The hearings were supposed to start February 14, 2005, however the CEC instead heard arguments regarding a motion filed by the rural municipalities (RM) of East St. Paul, Springfield and St. Clements. The motion requested that the CEC adjourn the hearings and direct the Manitoba Floodway Authority (MFA), the project proponent, to provide more information on the design of the floodway expansion so the RMs can properly analyze the impacts. The municipalities are worried the $665-million floodway expansion could cause their aquifers to leak into the floodway and that contaminated water would seep into their drinking water. Aquifer damage has resulted from the original floodway. The Chair of the CEC dismissed the RM's motion on February 15, 2005. The Chair indicated that the issues raised in the municipalities' motion will be addressed through the hearing process and that to accept the motion would be to decide, without sufficient evidence, that the MFA's environmental impact statement (EIS) is deficient. Director of Manitoba Wildlands, Gaile Whelan Enns said: "These CEC hearings may result in an environmental license for both the existing floodway and the expansion. To limit hearings content to the expansion project ignores the fact that the existing floodway has no environmental license. These communitities are rightly concerned about additional water quality risks from the expanded floodway." View the CEC hearings transcript for the proposed Floodway Expansion project Download the motion filed by the rural municipalities (RM) of East St. Paul, Springfield and St. Clements (PDF) Download the CEC decision on the motion filed by the rural municipalities (RM) of East St. Paul, Springfield and St. Clements (PDF) Download the motions brief prepared by the Manitoba Floodway Authority (PDF) Sources: Clean Environment Commission, Manitoba Wildlands, Winnipeg Free Press |
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