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Umar') ology UR "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" rv dyed - LoS A PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 1, 2000 - 3 Region tests have confirmed contamination Still no ministry response on samples: Moffatt By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Scugog Mayor Doug Moffatt continues to await results of water tests con- ducted at a Scugog Island stream almost two months ago, but says he is quickly losing patience. Water samples were taken from a stream on Pine Point Rd. on June 11 by Mayor Moffatt and staff from the Ministry of Environment after reports of contamina- tion. Since then, the mayor has received word from the Durham Region Health Department - he passed his own samples along to them - that the stream was conta- minated with pig manure. He has received no answer from the ministry so far. "Nothing, not yet," said Mayor Moffatt late last week. "(Durham MPP John) O'Toole's office said I'd have the results by Wednesday, but that's come and went, and | still have no answer." He's frustrated at what he says is a slow response from the ministry. "I find that quite disturb- ing. They don't seem to think it's serious, like they're not concemed at all. They have to inform us of the results sometime." Mayor Moffatt claims that the municipality needs direction from provincial Moffatt officials if any action is to be taken about the contami- nated water, or to prevent future incidents. A large hog farm in the vicinity of the stream is thought to have been the source of the pollution. Over the past few years, five complaints have been filed with the MOE about the farm, said the mayor recent- ly. Last week, provincial Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller released a report stating that the province's environ- mental laws do not ade- quately address the risks that large farming opera- tions pose to groundwater. A report on intensive farming and the protection of gfdbundwater that was submitted Thursday said Ontario has a "confused patchwork" of laws and poli- cies on protecting ground- water. Council hopefuls line up for the autumn election Scugog Mayor Doug Moffatt will stand for re- election this November when the 2000 municipal election is held. Five of the seven cur- rent members of town- ship council have filled out their nomination forms for the upcoming - election. Only current Regional Councillor Ken Gadsden has announced he won't seek re-elec- tion. Former Ward | coun- cillor Doug Moffatt will try for a second term as mayor, and Ward 3 (Scugog Island) rep Jim McMillan is also seeking another term. Ward 4 (Cartwright) councillor David Dietlein will also run again. With Mr. Gadsden announcing his retire- ment from municipal pol- itics, current Ward 2 rep Ken Carruthers will seek the regional councillors seat in the November election. Ward 5 rep Garry Mahoney has yet to file his nomination papers. There is currently no one running for the Ward 2 seat. The closing date for nominations is Oct. 13, with the election sched- uled for Nov. 13. The 2000 election is being touted as one of the most important in Scugog's short history. Municipal representa- tives elected in the upcoming vote will decide the future of the township, with amalga- mation looming ahead in the near future. The report calls for the MOE to develop a compre- hensive groundwater strate- gy that would include iden- tifying sources of contami- nation, and their potential effects on health. The improper storage, spreading or storing of manure could lead to pollu- tion of waterways, fish-kill incidents and the contami- nation of groundwater, said the report. Mayor Moffatt noted that the call for stricter laws by the province is encouraging, but said the policies have to be enforced. "It's a good idea, but either the Ministry of Environment or OMAFRA (Ontario ~~ Ministry of Agriculture, Farm, and Rural Affairs) have to stick to it. One or the other, it doesn't matter, they have to take the responsibility to enforce these laws," he said. "The government has to realize that most farmers are pretty responsible, but that they're all looked at with a skeptical eye because of-possible conta- mination," said the mayor. Tainted water results have been popping up all across the province since an E. coli outbreak Clearance SALE! racks BRECK CS 168 - 178 Queen Street, Port Per N)5-985-2521 or Kids occurred in Walkerton ear- lier this year. Last week it was revealed that four homes on Stephenson Point Rd. tested positive for E. coli contamination. "There's a lot of dug wells in Durham and across the province where prob- lems are evident," said Mayor Moffatt, " and it's time the province stepped up to the plate and did something about it." A