Minister of Environment Chester Gillan commended Island agricultural producers today for outstanding compliance this growing season with the provincial buffer zone requirements.
Minister Gillan said enforcement officers have put considerable time and effort into ensuring compliance with the buffer zone provisions this summer, inspecting fields on the ground and surveying some of the Island's river systems by helicopter. In total, they have seen approximately 900 fields.
"These inspections have resulted in just one written warning, and that individual immediately complied. We have had excellent cooperation from producers and I want to thank them for their efforts to protect Island waterways," the Minister said.
Used in conjunction with other measures such as soil conservation and crop rotation, buffer zones help keep sediment and other contaminants from entering watercourses and wetlands. Prince Edward Island was the first jurisdiction to introduce comprehensive buffer zones in 1999. After a strong emphasis on education in the first couple of years, provincial officers stepped up enforcement efforts last summer, issuing 45 warnings which included direction to farmers to bring fields into compliance with the legislation. That amounted to about five per cent of fields inspected.
"We had a high level of cooperation from farmers to resolve the problems last summer. The big difference this year was that producers made sure they were in compliance from the start of the season," said Minister Gillan. "So we had the situation where producers were calling provincial enforcement officers to ensure they were doing the right thing before they started planting."
As the fall harvest approaches and agricultural producers start looking to prepare the land for next year's growing season, they are reminded to take note of the requirements of the buffer zone legislation in relation to fall tillage and winter cover. In particular, producers must be careful not to till up areas that will be required to be grass forage headlands for fields in row crop production next year. Practices that avoid fall tillage completely are preferred. As well, for field areas that require either mulch or a winter cover crop, it must be completed within three weeks of the row crop harvest and no later than November 30. Winter cover is required when the slope in the 50 metres (164 feet) upslope of a 10-metre (33-foot) agricultural crop buffer in a row cropped field is over five per cent.
If agricultural producers have any questions about fall tillage or winter cover requirements, they are encouraged to speak to their local conservation officer, or call the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment at (902) 368-5052. In addition to crop production, the buffer zone legislation applies to livestock operations, forestry operations, land development, and any other land use. For more information, call the department or visit the Web site at www.gov.pe.ca/fae/index.php3