Westlock County’s adventure with peat burning is close to being resolved.
At the Feb. 12 county council meeting, reeve Charles Navratil gave his fellow councillors an update on the progress of a new fire bylaw that would take into account concerns raised about the burning of peat.
While he could not comment on the specifics of the amended bylaw since it has not come before council yet, Navratil did say that day is fast approaching.
He explained county public works director Dennis Mueller is currently in the process of making the final draft, which will soon be sent to councillors and lawyers.
“It’s going through the proper channels,” Navratil said.
The changes that are expected to show up in the new bylaw take into account the ideas presented to council by the Westlock Right to Farm and Improve Land Association — a group of farmers mostly from the Linaria and Dapp area that formed after the county initially banned burning peat at its June 26 meeting.
The association formed to advocate for the continued burning of peat, with reasonable restrictions, as well as to make sure any new bylaws concerning farming are not overly oppressive.
With the changes nearly complete, Navratil said the new bylaw should be able to be passed completely by March 31.
That date is critical, as it’s when peat-burning permits would start being issued under the terms proposed by the association.
However, Navratil said there is a bit of leeway beyond that date — landowners would not be allowed to actually start burning their peat piles until July 1, regardless of when permits are issued.
He explained peat could only be burned between July 1 and Aug. 31, because during those two months the school buses would not be running, meaning the smoke from the peat fires would not be putting school children at risk, something that is a complete non-starter.
“I know there’s problems with the peat smoke and everything else, but my biggest concern is the safety of the kids,” Navratil said, adding the buses need to run and he doesn’t want any problems to arise that would prevent them from doing so.
The issue surrounding a peat-burning ban first raised its head during an in-camera session at the June 26, 2012 county council meeting. When councillors came out of the session, they voted to enact a ban on burning peat. At the time, the smoke and road safety was the reason given for the ban.
At the July 17 meeting, new Coun. Jim Wiese questioned why the decision to enact the ban was made in-camera, as he could not see how it could be considered a land, legal or personnel matter — the three subjects public bodies are allowed to debate behind closed doors.
In the midst of a debate with Wiese, Navratil admitted the discussion about the ban should have taken place in an open meeting.
As a result of the new ban, the Westlock Right to Farm association was founded, and met with councillors during the July 31 meeting to try and come up with a mutually agreeable solution.
On Sept. 25, councillors tabled two proposed changes to the county’s Fire Protection bylaw. However, they voted to maintain a moratorium on peat burning that had been in place since the June 26 meeting.
