MOE, MNR putting chill on plans for Lake Manitou Subdivision

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MOE, MNR putting chill on plans for Lake Manitou Subdivision

 

 

Jim Moodie / www.manitoulin.ca

 

 

LAKE MANITOU - Concerns about water quality and trout habitat have stalled a cottage development at the north end of Lake Manitou, and could lead to a temporary freeze on land severances elsewhere around the lake.

 

"I'm not sure how serious the roadblock is, but it's certainly on hold," said landowner Doug McLay, who hopes to develop a 21-lot subdivision for seasonal residents on Green Bay near Red Lodge.

 

Mr. McLay applied in September to have his land rezoned from agricultural to shoreline development, and about six months later "I finally got a response," he said. "A study has been requested for Lake Manitou to see if it can support any more cottages, and this could take three years."

 

When an Official Plan amendment is required for rezoning, approval is needed from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH), which consults with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), explained Elva Carter, secretary-treasurer of the Manitoulin Planning Board.

 

In this case, "the MNR and the MOE expressed a concern with water quality to the MMAH," she said. "They say it's premature (to okay the development) until further testing is done and they're satisfied the lake capacity is there."

 

Of specific concern is "dissolved oxygen in the water," said Ms. Carter, noting, "this requirement is higher on Lake Manitou because it is a lake-trout lake."

 

Scott Dingwall, district planner with the MNR, confirmed that his ministry, in collaboration with the MOE, had raised a red flag. "We have some preliminary water quality information that indicates Lake Manitou is near, or at, its capacity to absorb nutrients that development contributes to a waterbody," he said.

 

Lake Manitou supports a prized trout population, he noted, and "it's been used as an egg source for stocking other lakes," so protection of this resource is paramount.

 

"The context for this is a policy statement that instructs us that 'development and site alteration shall not be permitted in fish habitat except in accordance with provincial and federal requirements,'" said the MNR planner.

 

Lake-trout lakes "are particularly sensitive to nutrient loading," noted Mr. Dingwall, "and phosphorous is the key nutrient of concern here, as it can cause algae blooms." When photoplankton and other matter drift to the bottom of the lake-where lake trout lurk in the cold water-and begin to decompose, "you get deep-water oxygen depletion, which competes with lake trout needs."

 

The MNR, he said, "has scientifically established that seven parts per million is the required oxygen content for the normal metabolic needs and growth of trout, and if this is reduced, the fish are stressed." Sampling done in the last five years shows that the oxygen level in Lake Manitou "is slightly below seven parts per million."

 

Mr. Dingwall stressed that this is preliminary information, and more analysis needs to be carried out to "get a better data set, and establish with confidence" whether the lake can withstand more shoreline development. "There may be a risk, or there might not be," he said. "We need to err on the side of caution until we get a better picture."

 

Mr. McLay's application has been deferred in the meantime, and "we are considering a temporary freeze on applications for severances" elsewhere on the lake, said Mr. Dingwall, as it would be unfair to defer one application and approve others.

 

The file on Mr. McLay's application "has been closed administratively by the MMA," he said, but "once we have better information about the water quality, and if it says there is available capacity, he could reapply."

 

Mr. McLay didn't anticipate such a hiccup in his plans. "I thought I was in the clear, because Green Bay is a shallow, sand bay, and as far as I know there aren't any trout spawning beds," he said.

 

There are other cottage communities in this part of Manitou already-including one on either side of Mr. McLay's property-but it isn't wall-to-wall development. Nor is Mr. McLay convinced that cottagers are the main problem when it comes to nutrient levels in the lake.

 

"They say oxygen is being depleted in Lake Manitou, but they forget to mention the hundreds of cattle that are still watering in the lake," he said.

 

Rather than wait three years for the MNR and MOE to assess the lake's ability to support more development, Mr. McLay wonders if he can speed up the process by commissioning his own analysis. "At this point I may suggest that I hire my own consultants to study this," he said.

 

While a broader clampdown on Lake Manitou development could be in the offing until the water study is complete, Ms. Carter of the Planning Board said she has received no information to that effect as yet. "If someone applies for a lot, we still have the ability to do planning approvals," she indicated.

 

Vetting by the MMAH (with input from the other ministries) was required in this instance because "it wasn't zoned appropriately," said Ms. Carter, but "if the designation and zoning are in place, the planning board would take the application."

 

"We're dealing with one application here," she said. "I don't have anything that tells me I can't take an application from someone else. There's no freeze."

 

It's certainly put Mr. McLay's plans on ice, though, possibly for as long as three years. And that prospect gives him a distinct chill.

 

"I don't want to wait that long," he said. "I'm not getting any younger. And I'm still paying interest on the land."