Local Groups Ask Public to Call on Province to Grow the Greenbelt, Protect Water Supplies in Simcoe County
Deadline to submit comments to province is October 31
News release from Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition
The Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition (SCGC), a group comprised of over 25 member organizations including ratepayers, naturalists, farmers, and environmentalists, is urging the public to stand up for their water and grow the Greenbelt further into Simcoe County.
On October 19 from 10 am to 12 pm, at the Midhurst United Church, 91 Doran Road, Midhurst Ontario, the SCGC will be hosting a public forum on Simcoe’s water resources and various concerns from citizens across the county. The event will also feature a video interview with David Crombie, the chair of the coordinated land use review panel, which speaks to why his panel recommended growing the Greenbelt to protect our vulnerable water resources.
Growing the Greenbelt into Simcoe County is a unique opportunity for citizens to permanently protect the land and water that we rely on. From the Oro Moraine, provincially and internationally significant wetlands to the world’s largest fresh water beach and Lake Simcoe, Simcoe County needs to be a good steward of these resources for our health and our economy.
Co-chair of the SCGC, Margaret Prophet: “The vast majority of residents, businesses and farmers in Simcoe County rely strictly on groundwater for daily use. Clearly, it is a resource that keeps our residents and economy healthy. There are valid concerns that this precious resource is threatened and, in some places, dwindling. As we continue to grow, the public needs to have a serious conversation about how we balance preserving the places we love and protecting the water we need with building vibrant communities. The SCGC feels that expanding the Greenbelt is an opportunity to do just that.”
With Simcoe County slated to grow to at least 667,000 by 2031, the pressure on our water will only intensify. Says Prophet “With the province signalling that it is looking to grow the Greenbelt, now is the time for Simcoe residents to ensure that our water and the land that supports it, is adequately protected. Many people in Simcoe have experienced wells going dry, water restrictions or bans, or beach closures in previous years and this summer especially. These are not indicators of healthy water systems. We must act now before its too late.”
The Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition is a diverse coalition of over 25 organizations from across Simcoe County and the province calling on local and provincial leaders to expand the Greenbelt further into Simcoe County. The SCGC looks forward to engaging the public and stakeholders about the role an expanded Greenbelt would play in the future of Simcoe County. Visit www.simcoecountygreenbelt.ca to learn more and take action.
U.S. Lawsuit Opens New Way To End Senseless Immigration
Posted on October 22, 2016
LAWSUIT CHARGES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IGNORED OUR NATION’S PREEMINENT ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
October 17, 2016
IRLI Staff
Immigration Reform Law Institute Sues Administration for Ignoring National Environmental Policy Act on Immigration
(Washington, D.C) – Today, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of California against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for ignoring our nation’s preeminent environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). For the last 46 years, NEPA has required any agency considering an action that will affect the environment to analyze and publicize those effects. IRLI represents Whitewater Draw Natural Resource Conservation District, Arizona Association of Conservation Districts, Californians for Population Stabilization, New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, and four other plaintiffs against DHS, which has failed to investigate the environmental impact of our nation’s immigration policies.
Julie B. Axelrod, IRLI’s lead counsel on the case, says, “Our lawsuit will demonstrate that legal and illegal immigration have a very significant impact on the environment, which DHS has spent the last 46 years ignoring.”
DHS, like its predecessor agency Immigration and Naturalization Service, has never considered or analyzed the enormous “impacts to the human environment” of legal and illegal immigration, as required by NEPA. Between 1990 and 2010, the US population grew by over 61 million people due to expansive immigration policies and lax enforcement–yet even over this intense period of immigration, DHS ignored NEPA’s requirement to conduct analysis on the environmental impacts. DHS regulations do not address or even acknowledge that unauthorized border crossing itself damages the environment.
Former Governor of Colorado Richard Lamm of Denver, a member of one of the plaintiffs in the suit, said, “Conservatives and liberals alike should be shocked at the environmental effects of out-of-control immigration. It is environmental malpractice to ignore immigration.”
Dale L. Wilcox, IRLI’s Executive Director, states, “The immigration policies implemented by DHS have had an enormous impact on the environment by causing explosive population growth. Yet DHS has ignored NEPA, the bedrock of the nation’s environmental statutory framework, for decades.”
Additional information about the filed complaint can be found at the link below:
http://www.irli.org/nepa