Rutland Herald
Canadian decision restricts Omya's water-taking
December 20, 2003
By BRUCE EDWARDS Herald Staff
Omya's calcium carbonate operation in Canada suffered a setback Thursday when the new government in Ontario put on hold all new and expanded water-taking permits for industry in the province.
The decision by the Liberal government places a one-year moratorium on water-taking permits for all industry in Ontario. In Omya's case, the decision by Environment Minister Leona Dornbrowsky restricts Omya's water withdrawal to no more than 390,000 gallons a day.
Earlier this year, Omya's plant in Perth was granted a permit by Ontario's then-minister of the environment that allowed the company to withdraw more than 1 million gallons of water a day from the Tay River.
The rarely used ministerial power overturned a ruling by the provincial Environmental Review Tribunal that limited Omya's water taking to the 390,000-gallons-a-day limit.
Thursday's ruling was a victory for Omya opponents, who raised concerns that withdrawing such a large amount of water from the small river could affect drinking water supplies and fish habitat. Omya officials, on the other hand, disputed assertions that the water withdrawal would cause any harm.
The decision by the provincial government affects a number of industries including bottled water, fruit and vegetable canning, ready-mix concrete, and slurry production.
Local resident and Omya opponent Michael Cassidy said Friday that imposing a one-year moratorium while studies are conducted to determine how much water is available to industry in Ontario was the right decision.
" ... I think it's a very good decision because I thought the minister's decision previously to override the conclusions of the Environmental Review Tribunal to give Omya everything they asked for was a terribly bad decision in terms of public policy and in terms of failing to balance the concerns of the community and citizens against the demands of the company," said Cassidy, a lawmaker representing Lanark-Highlands, where the plant is located.
Cassidy also said that given the recent change in government in Ontario, Thursday's decision was not a surprise. During the campaign, Cassidy said current Premier Dalton McGuinty and Dombrowsky, the minister of environment, "had said the permit as altered by the previous government was wrong and they would do their best to undo it."
James Reddy, president of Omya Inc., whose responsibilities include Canada, said Friday he was still studying the decision. Although concerned, Reddy said the decision would have no immediate impact on the company's Canadian operation.
"It really has no immediate impact on us," Reddy said from the company's North American headquarters in Proctor. "We have plenty of water for the capacity of the plant."
He said while the daily average water withdrawal is one-sixth of the allowable 390,000 gallons, there are times when production can peak near the maximum.
Cassidy said he didn't think the decision would harm Omya's business "in any significant way."
The water-taking decision was the latest reversal for the company which grinds marble into a slurry product used in the paint, paper, plastics, pharmaceutical and food industries. Last month, Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation ruled that Omya needed a waste disposal permit for its tailings site in Pittsford. The decision by DEC Commissioner Jeffrey Wennberg reversed a preliminary decision he made in September that would have exempted Omya from obtaining a permit for its 32-acre above-ground storage facility.
Contact Bruce Edwards at bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com.