Feedback deadline Nov. 18
The Gimli Environmental Advisory Committee (GEAC) is raising concerns about a new peat mine that Sun Gro Horticulture Canada is proposing to build and operate at the Sugar Creek bog, about 35 kilometres northwest of Riverton.
The site is a forested peat bog, and discharge from the proposed mine will eventually flow into Sugar Creek and Lake Winnipeg, according to the proposal.
Sun Gro Horticulture Canada is seeking an environmental licence from the provincial government to build, operate and recover a peat harvesting development at the Sugar Creek bog. The development is located on provincial Crown land in the Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton (townships 26 and 27). The site is located in the Moose Creek Provincial Forest and the Moose Creek Wildlife Management Area. An access road about 8 kilometres long will be built from PR 325.
GEAC chair Gail Mastin said the committee was contacted by concerned citizens after they saw an advertisement in a Winnipeg newspaper that was taken out by the provincial department of Environment and Climate Change, advising that the deadline for public feedback on the new mine is Nov. 18.
With such a tight deadline, Mastin said Interlakers should be aware of the proposed mine and send their comments about the project to the provincial government.
Calling peat an “incredibly important ally” to help combat the climate crisis, Mastin said peat bogs also improve water quality, reduce flooding events and are a haven for wildlife. Water that’s released from peat bogs into Lake Winnipeg is cleaner because peat is a natural filter.
“Harvesting peat is an unsustainable, non-renewable resource and contributes to climate change by releasing greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide and methane into the air that have been stored in the peat bog. It contributes to the loss of valuable habitats, disrupts ecosystems and degraded water quality,” said Mastin by email. “The mechanized peat removal has a major ecological impact, stripping away the living layer and subsequently exposing large quantities of peat to oxidation and loss of carbon. Areas of bog can become degraded as a result of the drastically lowered water table.”
Governments in other countries such as England and the U.S. and in regions of Europe are taking steps to ban peat harvesting because peat extraction comes with significant environmental consequences, Mastin added.
“Regulations and policies aimed at conserving peatlands and promoting sustainable peat-free alternatives are being implemented worldwide,” she said.
GEAC is asking the Manitoba government to do a “complete environmental study” and have “their own assessment” carried out, she said, as mining companies typically hire consultants that will write studies in the company’s favour.
“We’re asking to keep the peat bogs intact,” said Mastin.
Anyone wishing to comment on Sun Gro Horticulture’s proposed new peat mine should contact provincial environment officer Bryce Wood in writing via email: bryce.wood@gov.mb.ca, via fax: (204) 945-5229 or via letter: Environmental Approvals Branch, Manitoba Environment and Climate Change, Box 35, 14 Fultz Boulevard, Winnipeg, MB, R3Y 0L6. Include the following subject line: Sun Gro Horticulture Canada Ltd., Sugar Creek Bog Peat Harvesting, File 6236.00.
The deadline for feedback is no later than Nov. 18.
Visit the public registry at www.gov.mb.ca/sd/eal/registries for more information about the proposal.
