“That we’ve got three from Centre Wellington speaks very well for us.”
That was the reaction of Belwood area farmer David Parker, who was recently named by the GRCA to the Lake Erie region source protection committee. He joins engineer Dale Murray, of Fergus, and Richard Seibel, also of Fergus.
Parker is representing agriculture on the committee.
The committee itself was established under the Clean Water Act to guide the development of plans to protect municipal drinking water sour ces in four watersheds: Grand River, Long Point Region, Catfish Creek and Kettle Creek.
The committee members were appointed by the board of the GRCA on Nov. 20. Under the Act, the GRCA board (in its role as the lead source protection authority for the region) has the responsibility to name the committee members on behalf of all four of the conservation authorities in the Lake Erie Region.
The first meeting of the committee will be held on Dec. 20 at 1pm at the GRCA office in Cambridge.
That will be the beginning of a process that is expected to take about five years, including considerable public consultation at various steps along the way.
Chairman of the committee is Craig Ashbaugh, of Port Rowan, who was appointed in August by the minister of the environment. The members of the source protection commit – tee represent a broad range of sectors with an interest in source water protection: municipalities, agriculture, business, industry, First Nations and the public.
There are seven members representing municipalities, seven representing economic sectors such as agriculture and industry, and seven representing public interests. In addition, there are three seats for
First Nations representatives, although only one has been filled to date.
