At their Monday meeting, Loyalist Township council voted to support a resolution from Prince Edward County on support for the province to stop a proposal from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).

The proposal is to expand the use of the permit-by-rule to waste management systems, storm water management systems, and certain water taking activities.

According to their report, Prince Edward County actively supports the source water protection program in support of the Quinte Conservation Authority. The program supports local efforts to implement the Clean Water Act to protect local municipal drinking water.

The 2018 Open for Business Act doesn't require low-risk activities to go through the approval process. These activities are to be self-registered on the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR.) Quinte Conservation Authority outlined in their Oct. 24 report to their board, that the activities currently set for the EASR may pose too much risk to drinking water, and can pose threats to human health and the environment.

The resolution from Prince Edward County has been sent to Premier Doug Ford, Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith, and Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Andrea Khanjin. It has also been shared with all 444 municipalities in Ontario, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), The Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO), The Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC,) and all Ontario conservation authorities.

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