The Agriculture Business Community has now been able to upload pdf documents of original material. The embedded material on the website may be too small to read for many of us. For each document that shows up on the site simply follow the link above the document to see the larger version. Included in this post is the original Report submitted to the Consultants, the Tables that went with it and the cover letter.
Cover Letter to J and O
ABCOPE Report Final
Tables
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Beacon - Letter to the Editor
Rich farmland a one-time gift from nature
I have been driving from Stratford to New Hamburg for over 60 years. Lately, because of the threat to irreplaceable farmland, this writer has tried to think of improvements to the existing Highway 7/8.
If the knolls and hills were reduced in height by six or eight feet and the hollows raised by the same amount, the line of sight for oncoming traffic would be greatly improved. This would prevent many accidents caused by impatient drivers. Construction costs would not be excessive, and Shakespeare's commerce would not be negatively impacted.
During the St. Lawrence Seaway development, many brick buildings were moved miles, and that was decades ago. The Fryfogel Inn and Lingelbach Church could be relocated.
Having driven in all the provinces in Canada except for the Far North, we have seen a lot of country.
The four-lane highway proposed would desecrate some of the most valuable agricultural land on Earth! This proposal for a Stratford bypass would cover ground that has grown food for one and a half centuries. Our farmers could produce for at least another 150 years.
Would it be fair to cheat future generations out of this local food supply for the sake of a few minutes saved?
Under the rules of Environment Nutrient Management, the number of livestock units kept is limited to the acres required for the application of manure. Loss of land would mean the reduction of cows or pigs allowed.
If the house and farm buildings are separated from the workable land, can you imagine the problem of transporting the planting and harvesting equipment to the nearest interchange, going across the overpass, back to your farm, doing the work, then returning home?
Surely our present bypass routes could be upgraded at less cost to the province. Excellent farmland with a favourable climate is rare. Let's protect it.
Harold Erb
Stratford
I have been driving from Stratford to New Hamburg for over 60 years. Lately, because of the threat to irreplaceable farmland, this writer has tried to think of improvements to the existing Highway 7/8.
If the knolls and hills were reduced in height by six or eight feet and the hollows raised by the same amount, the line of sight for oncoming traffic would be greatly improved. This would prevent many accidents caused by impatient drivers. Construction costs would not be excessive, and Shakespeare's commerce would not be negatively impacted.
During the St. Lawrence Seaway development, many brick buildings were moved miles, and that was decades ago. The Fryfogel Inn and Lingelbach Church could be relocated.
Having driven in all the provinces in Canada except for the Far North, we have seen a lot of country.
The four-lane highway proposed would desecrate some of the most valuable agricultural land on Earth! This proposal for a Stratford bypass would cover ground that has grown food for one and a half centuries. Our farmers could produce for at least another 150 years.
Would it be fair to cheat future generations out of this local food supply for the sake of a few minutes saved?
Under the rules of Environment Nutrient Management, the number of livestock units kept is limited to the acres required for the application of manure. Loss of land would mean the reduction of cows or pigs allowed.
If the house and farm buildings are separated from the workable land, can you imagine the problem of transporting the planting and harvesting equipment to the nearest interchange, going across the overpass, back to your farm, doing the work, then returning home?
Surely our present bypass routes could be upgraded at less cost to the province. Excellent farmland with a favourable climate is rare. Let's protect it.
Harold Erb
Stratford
Monday, January 19, 2009
ANNEX on Drainage
Annex
The consultants to MTO have minimized the role of drainage in the development of various corridor options and almost completely ignored the Municipal responsibility for drainage. This is a major missing factor in the Class EA assessment as undertaken to date.
It is imperative to all tax-payers that the effective movement of rain-water and snow melt be a major component of any environmental assessment. At present, it is not. In the background report, prepared by MTO consultants - Report F (Part 1) Environmental Conditions and Constraints - watersheds, creeks and drains are placed under the heading Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems. They are given only passing attention in a brief one page description (p.31) about surface water movement into the Grand and the Thames. Water drainage is also missing as an element of municipal infrastructure and public service (p. 46 ).
Municipal drains are an important element of municipal infrastructure requiring constant care and attention to avoid liability disputes. They are a community resource requiring long-term stewardship. Good municipal drains are essential for discretionary private drainage decisions, and both have an enormous impact on land use and its valuations.
In recent years, heavy storm water management as well as the movement of snow-melt during successive winter thaws have become prominent features of regional weather. There are always up and downstream implications, often covering many jurisdictions. Any newly paved corridor, but particularly a four lane paved highway, will have significant drainage requirements and will affect both agricultural drainage patterns and municipal drainage infrastructure in villages and towns. Four lane paved highways always produce escalating volumes of surface water and increase flash flood loads.
Municipal drainage maps indicate the existing 7/8 corridor from New Hamburg to Sebringville, as well as the recently proposed corridor just south of the railway line, require highway corridor water to move east, west, north and south. Seven watersheds are affected; the Nith River, Horner Creek, North Woodstock, Trout Creek, Avon River, Black Creek and the North Thames Branch. Countless municipal and private drains are included in these proposed corridor areas some being headwaters to the seven watersheds, and, therefore, at the top of the flow.
The local experience of agricultural business operators with farm drainage and expanded highway development has not been uniformly positive. Often an increase in highway surface water flow involves surprising turns of events and hidden costs that can take years to resolve.
. Private drains may become overloaded or crushed or cut off from their outlets and ditches;
. Sub-mains and extensions may need to be developed across large cultivated fields;
. The recharge of deep wells may be affected; and
. The availability of water in shallow wells and stock ponds may be affected.
It is our understanding that under common law surface water generated by large infrastructure projects, such as highway construction, has no natural right of drainage. The key factors under consideration then are the concept of ‘sufficient outlet’, as referred to in Section 15 of the Drainage Act and ‘subsequent connection’ to drainage works which is affected by a change in land use as noted in Section 66 of the Act.
The main points noted in this annex will be utilized in a second brief to MTO being prepared by the Agricultural Business Community for submission by February 8th. The Reeve and Council are invited to use any of the text or information provided above for purposes of their correspondence with MTO.
The consultants to MTO have minimized the role of drainage in the development of various corridor options and almost completely ignored the Municipal responsibility for drainage. This is a major missing factor in the Class EA assessment as undertaken to date.
It is imperative to all tax-payers that the effective movement of rain-water and snow melt be a major component of any environmental assessment. At present, it is not. In the background report, prepared by MTO consultants - Report F (Part 1) Environmental Conditions and Constraints - watersheds, creeks and drains are placed under the heading Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems. They are given only passing attention in a brief one page description (p.31) about surface water movement into the Grand and the Thames. Water drainage is also missing as an element of municipal infrastructure and public service (p. 46 ).
Municipal drains are an important element of municipal infrastructure requiring constant care and attention to avoid liability disputes. They are a community resource requiring long-term stewardship. Good municipal drains are essential for discretionary private drainage decisions, and both have an enormous impact on land use and its valuations.
In recent years, heavy storm water management as well as the movement of snow-melt during successive winter thaws have become prominent features of regional weather. There are always up and downstream implications, often covering many jurisdictions. Any newly paved corridor, but particularly a four lane paved highway, will have significant drainage requirements and will affect both agricultural drainage patterns and municipal drainage infrastructure in villages and towns. Four lane paved highways always produce escalating volumes of surface water and increase flash flood loads.
Municipal drainage maps indicate the existing 7/8 corridor from New Hamburg to Sebringville, as well as the recently proposed corridor just south of the railway line, require highway corridor water to move east, west, north and south. Seven watersheds are affected; the Nith River, Horner Creek, North Woodstock, Trout Creek, Avon River, Black Creek and the North Thames Branch. Countless municipal and private drains are included in these proposed corridor areas some being headwaters to the seven watersheds, and, therefore, at the top of the flow.
The local experience of agricultural business operators with farm drainage and expanded highway development has not been uniformly positive. Often an increase in highway surface water flow involves surprising turns of events and hidden costs that can take years to resolve.
. Private drains may become overloaded or crushed or cut off from their outlets and ditches;
. Sub-mains and extensions may need to be developed across large cultivated fields;
. The recharge of deep wells may be affected; and
. The availability of water in shallow wells and stock ponds may be affected.
It is our understanding that under common law surface water generated by large infrastructure projects, such as highway construction, has no natural right of drainage. The key factors under consideration then are the concept of ‘sufficient outlet’, as referred to in Section 15 of the Drainage Act and ‘subsequent connection’ to drainage works which is affected by a change in land use as noted in Section 66 of the Act.
The main points noted in this annex will be utilized in a second brief to MTO being prepared by the Agricultural Business Community for submission by February 8th. The Reeve and Council are invited to use any of the text or information provided above for purposes of their correspondence with MTO.
ABC Visits Perth South Council
ABC will be visiting several Councils in the next few weeks. Below are some recommendations we are taking to them. In addition we have an ANNEX on Drainage, common to them all.
Recommendations to the Reeve and Council of Perth South for Consideration on the Proposed Development of Highway 7& 8
The Agricultural Business Community (ABC) Chapters suggest there are two areas deserving your consideration.
A Drainage
B Traffic Counts
We have prepared four recommendations and support material is provided in the Annex.
A Agricultural Drainage
There are important implications to this Municipality and its tax-payers concerning municipal and agricultural drainage pending the selection of a final corridor and route for the proposed expansion of Highway 7/8 by MTO.
From the perspective of the Agricultural Business Community the potential drainage issues are three-fold:
. The impact of a four lane highway corridor on municipal drains;
. The impact on private drains; and
. The associated drainage costs to individual landowners resulting from highway development.
A drainage specialist with OMAFRA informs us that the widening and expansion of Highway 16 in Eastern Ontario into Highway 416 parallels circumstances of the proposed new Highway 7/8 corridor. The development of Highway 416 set a precedent for MTO where financing for municipal governments and individuals was made available on matters of drainage.
Therefore, We Recommend the Township of Perth South:
1. Submit a formal notice and request to MTO, specifying that drainage is a serious municipal concern, particularly for any four lane expansion, and that assurance will be required, before any approval of the selected route, that surface water volumes from the proposed route are manageable and not disruptive to municipal drains. In other words, assurance is needed that surface water can be brought to sufficient outlet.
2. For each existing municipal drain impacted by the highway project, the municipality should appoint an engineer under the Drainage Act to investigate the impacts of the highway project on the municipal drain, specify in the engineer’s report any necessary changes to the drain and ensure that the drain has the capacity to accommodate the additional flows. MTO should be required to pay the full cost of this work.
3. Request that MTO cover the entire costs for every adjacent landowner and agriculturalist whose private drains may be affected by the selected route to facilitate them in selecting and hiring the services of a tile drainage contractor, licensed under the Agricultural Tile Drainage Installation Act, to assess and resolve any potential impacts on private drainage systems including laterals, ditches, culverts, sub-mains and other items associated with any potential new drainage demands.
4: While there are many municipal drains in the area, it is possible that the additional runoff generated by this project may create areas that have no suitable drainage outlet into an existing municipal drain. In those situations, MTO must not be permitted to direct their water onto the adjoining land. They must be required to petition under the Drainage Act for a drainage system that will properly drain the water generated from the new highway.
We trust that our Municipality will want to thoroughly assess the implications of the proposed highway expansion for our drainage infrastructure prior to further decisions.
B Traffic Counts
Traffic counts, existing and projected, are a fundamental fact of information driving the planning process. Wilmot Township, with technical support provided by the Engineering Department of the Region of Waterloo, questioned the traffic counts and population projections provided by the consulting team. They recommended that the consultants look at revising and lowering figures in their analysis. As volunteers we do not have the expertise to evaluate these figures. We believe, however, that these projected numbers are driving the plans for a proposed ring road, south of the City of Stratford, and across many of our farms in Perth East and Perth South.
We Recommend the Township of Perth South:
5: Contract an independent consultant to confirm or disconfirm the validity of the traffic numbers being used, both existing and projected, before the Ministry considers a route for a Highway 7 & 8 corridor south of Stratford connecting to Sebringville.
We trust that our Municipality will also want to be assured of the actual need for a four-lane corridor based on traffic numbers through our Municipality.
Recommendations to the Reeve and Council of Perth South for Consideration on the Proposed Development of Highway 7& 8
The Agricultural Business Community (ABC) Chapters suggest there are two areas deserving your consideration.
A Drainage
B Traffic Counts
We have prepared four recommendations and support material is provided in the Annex.
A Agricultural Drainage
There are important implications to this Municipality and its tax-payers concerning municipal and agricultural drainage pending the selection of a final corridor and route for the proposed expansion of Highway 7/8 by MTO.
From the perspective of the Agricultural Business Community the potential drainage issues are three-fold:
. The impact of a four lane highway corridor on municipal drains;
. The impact on private drains; and
. The associated drainage costs to individual landowners resulting from highway development.
A drainage specialist with OMAFRA informs us that the widening and expansion of Highway 16 in Eastern Ontario into Highway 416 parallels circumstances of the proposed new Highway 7/8 corridor. The development of Highway 416 set a precedent for MTO where financing for municipal governments and individuals was made available on matters of drainage.
Therefore, We Recommend the Township of Perth South:
1. Submit a formal notice and request to MTO, specifying that drainage is a serious municipal concern, particularly for any four lane expansion, and that assurance will be required, before any approval of the selected route, that surface water volumes from the proposed route are manageable and not disruptive to municipal drains. In other words, assurance is needed that surface water can be brought to sufficient outlet.
2. For each existing municipal drain impacted by the highway project, the municipality should appoint an engineer under the Drainage Act to investigate the impacts of the highway project on the municipal drain, specify in the engineer’s report any necessary changes to the drain and ensure that the drain has the capacity to accommodate the additional flows. MTO should be required to pay the full cost of this work.
3. Request that MTO cover the entire costs for every adjacent landowner and agriculturalist whose private drains may be affected by the selected route to facilitate them in selecting and hiring the services of a tile drainage contractor, licensed under the Agricultural Tile Drainage Installation Act, to assess and resolve any potential impacts on private drainage systems including laterals, ditches, culverts, sub-mains and other items associated with any potential new drainage demands.
4: While there are many municipal drains in the area, it is possible that the additional runoff generated by this project may create areas that have no suitable drainage outlet into an existing municipal drain. In those situations, MTO must not be permitted to direct their water onto the adjoining land. They must be required to petition under the Drainage Act for a drainage system that will properly drain the water generated from the new highway.
We trust that our Municipality will want to thoroughly assess the implications of the proposed highway expansion for our drainage infrastructure prior to further decisions.
B Traffic Counts
Traffic counts, existing and projected, are a fundamental fact of information driving the planning process. Wilmot Township, with technical support provided by the Engineering Department of the Region of Waterloo, questioned the traffic counts and population projections provided by the consulting team. They recommended that the consultants look at revising and lowering figures in their analysis. As volunteers we do not have the expertise to evaluate these figures. We believe, however, that these projected numbers are driving the plans for a proposed ring road, south of the City of Stratford, and across many of our farms in Perth East and Perth South.
We Recommend the Township of Perth South:
5: Contract an independent consultant to confirm or disconfirm the validity of the traffic numbers being used, both existing and projected, before the Ministry considers a route for a Highway 7 & 8 corridor south of Stratford connecting to Sebringville.
We trust that our Municipality will also want to be assured of the actual need for a four-lane corridor based on traffic numbers through our Municipality.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Newsletter # 4
The Positive Benefits of Actions Taken by ABC Chapters (So Far)
Local producers must continue to assess the near and long term effects of an expansion of highway 7/8 on their operations. However, we must not overlook what has already been gained through the actions of ABC Chapters since July. The benefits outlined below are significant and were achieved in short order. Reflection on these achievements may better equip us for the next steps.
1. Expansion of the existing highway 7/8 corridor has been resurrected as an option and it is now under serious reconsideration, whereas last summer it was virtually invisible
2. The option of a highway expansion model using 'partially restricted access', on the existing 7/8 corridor, is now being given serious consideration, whereas before the emphasis was exclusively on 'controlled access'
3. Large numbers of ABC member farms as well as other farms and properties are no longer part of the potentially 'affected corridor zones'. Large swaths of farmland (and woodlands) previously targeted south of the existing 7/8 are off the table.
4. The newly proposed corridors, offered by the consultants, substantially reduce the number of farm operations south of the existing 7/8 that would be 'bisected' by a four lane controlled access corridor.
5. The sweeping ring road options originally proposed around New Hamburg and Stratford have been reduced and refined and will be subject to further debate at the municipal level.
6. Tremendous flexibility on the part of the study managers has been gained concerning grade separations, fly-overs and road closures. These are referred to as 'access management alternatives' and they have been highlighted in the new plans and are listed on the same page as the new map of corridor alternatives.
7. The MTO continues to remain open to our input and has agreed to our further requests for technical information. Our sense is that they (MTO and TSH) are looking for a more collaborative model for highway expansion and that this EA design might provide them that opportunity.
While these gains are significant there is still much to do. We all know that any highway expansion or highway improvements will affect some landowners, both directly and through secondary effects such as changes in drainage and service road access.
-- Agriculture Business Community of Perth East, Perth South, Wilmot West
Local producers must continue to assess the near and long term effects of an expansion of highway 7/8 on their operations. However, we must not overlook what has already been gained through the actions of ABC Chapters since July. The benefits outlined below are significant and were achieved in short order. Reflection on these achievements may better equip us for the next steps.
1. Expansion of the existing highway 7/8 corridor has been resurrected as an option and it is now under serious reconsideration, whereas last summer it was virtually invisible
2. The option of a highway expansion model using 'partially restricted access', on the existing 7/8 corridor, is now being given serious consideration, whereas before the emphasis was exclusively on 'controlled access'
3. Large numbers of ABC member farms as well as other farms and properties are no longer part of the potentially 'affected corridor zones'. Large swaths of farmland (and woodlands) previously targeted south of the existing 7/8 are off the table.
4. The newly proposed corridors, offered by the consultants, substantially reduce the number of farm operations south of the existing 7/8 that would be 'bisected' by a four lane controlled access corridor.
5. The sweeping ring road options originally proposed around New Hamburg and Stratford have been reduced and refined and will be subject to further debate at the municipal level.
6. Tremendous flexibility on the part of the study managers has been gained concerning grade separations, fly-overs and road closures. These are referred to as 'access management alternatives' and they have been highlighted in the new plans and are listed on the same page as the new map of corridor alternatives.
7. The MTO continues to remain open to our input and has agreed to our further requests for technical information. Our sense is that they (MTO and TSH) are looking for a more collaborative model for highway expansion and that this EA design might provide them that opportunity.
To Do
While these gains are significant there is still much to do. We all know that any highway expansion or highway improvements will affect some landowners, both directly and through secondary effects such as changes in drainage and service road access.
-- Agriculture Business Community of Perth East, Perth South, Wilmot West
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