RM of Gimli council is encouraging residents to register to participate in an upcoming Manitoba Clean Environment Commission hearing on a proposed sewage lagoon the Crystal Spring Hutterite Colony wants to build on the Armstrong-Gimli municipal border.
Council launched a “Speak for the Lake” campaign last week, asking residents to sign up and express their concerns on how they think the proposed sewage lagoon will impact the environment and Lake Winnipeg, into which lagoon effluent will flow.
“The RM of Gimli has registered to participate in the Clean Environment Commission (CEC) Crystal Springs [sic] Lagoon Proposal public hearing. We’ve retained expert consultants and submitted concerns about the potential impacts on Lake Winnipeg, Willow Creek, and surrounding ecosystems,” said communications spokesperson Christine Payne. “Now, we invite you – residents, fishers, Indigenous voices, environmental advocates, and all who care about our shared waters – to Speak for the Lake. Your voice matters. Whether in writing or in person, you can Speak for the Lake.”
The Clean Environment Commission was established in 1988 to provide an opportunity for public engagement in the government’s decision-making process regarding environmental issues. The commission provides advice and recommendations to the environment minister.
The Crystal Spring colony bought approximately 640 acres of undeveloped land in the RM of Armstrong around the time of the pandemic. It lies between roads 106N and 107N, and is bound by Road 15E to the east. The land includes a mix of dense forest and open boggy areas.
The colony had asked the provincial government to approve a license so that it can build and operate a wastewater lagoon, which will treat both human and animal manure. Effluent will enter Lake Winnipeg via a roadside drain to Willow Creek, which runs east under Highway 8 and into the Siglavik residential subdivision and the coastal wetlands on Lake Winnipeg.
Residents in both municipalities, as well as commercial fishers and environmental organizations have repeatedly spoken out about the proposed sewage lagoon, citing the land as being prone to flooding events and the lagoon’s potential to pollute Willow Creek and Lake Winnipeg by adding more phosphorus and nitrogen to the lake that can kill fish and destroy fish spawning grounds.
The RM of Gimli had expressed its concerns – e.g., impacts on commercial fishing and recreational angling, threatened bird species such as the bobolink and barn swallow, and fish spawning grounds in Willow Creek – in December 2023 via a letter through one of the RM’s lawyers (see the public comments file number 6 that is posted on the province’s environment website).
It also expressed concern about “gaps” in hydraulic and geotechnical assessments, and the need for broader public consultation and Indigenous engagement.
A delegation from the Silver Harbour Association, near Arnes north of Gimli, had appeared before council last month, asking councillors to launch an awareness campaign.
The RM posted helpful links on its website under its Speak for the Lake campaign. They include an FAQ on what council is doing regarding the proposed sewage lagoon, a link to the CEC’s website where people can register for the upcoming hearing, and a link to the provincial environment department where all the documents pertaining to the Crystal Spring colony’s wastewater lagoon are publicly available.
Under the FAQ section, the RM says it had acknowledged community concerns about the proposed lagoon and discussed it during several council and committee of the whole meetings starting in December 2023 – the meetings are listed under the FAQ and their minutes can be publicly accessed via the agenda/minutes section of the RM’s website.
Council has retained the services of a consultant to act as its expert for the upcoming CEC public hearing.
“The RM of Gimli has formally opposed the lagoon project and has submitted an application to participate in the Clean Environment Commission,” states one of the FAQ answers. “The RM of Gimli has also retained the services of Dillon Consulting to act as its subject-matter expert in relation to the Clean Environment Commission hearing.”
Visit the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission’s webpage at cecmanitoba.ca for more information about the proposed hearing, how to become a presenter (either in person or in writing) and how to get added to a CEC contact list for updates with regard to the Crystal Spring colony’s proposed wastewater lagoon.
To read correspondence and technical assessments related to the proposed sewage lagoon, visit the provincial government’s department of environment and climate change’s public registry to view file No. 6193 titled “Crystal Spring Colony New Development – Wastewater Lagoon 7317434 Manitoba Ltd. – Crystal Spring Colony Farms Ltd.”
As of Nov. 9, the Clean Environment Commission had not yet set a date or a location for the public hearing on the sewage lagoon.
