The National Resource Conservation Board (NRCB) will continue to uphold conditions imposed upon a pig lot near Little Fish Lake.
    Sunterra Farms applied to have 14 conditions regarding manure disposal lifted. The conditions would allow Sunterra to spread closer to the edge of their property, bodies of water, and at more times, including long weekends.
    “When we built the unit, it was before there was a code of practice in place for producers. We’re asking that our pig unit be treated the same as any unit built today under the code of practice guidelines. So, we applied to have some of our conditions removed,” said Ben Woolley, Vice President Operations, with Sunterra.
    “This is land we bought originally to spread on in the first place and all we’re saying is we bought the lands and the setbacks are further than what is in the code of practice now.”
    The conditions Sunterra has been operating under were created by Special Areas, but since then, the NRCB has instituted less strict requirements.
    “When it was first applied for, setting the conditions was the responsibility of the municipality. Then, it was taken over by the NRCB,” said Jay Slemp, chair of Alberta Special Areas.
    Special Areas wanted to see the conditions remain in effect.
    “The Special Areas Board’s position is that when they first applied, they appealed, there was a decision made, and those were the conditions it was accepted under. We aren’t looking for any change. If it was good enough then, it is good enough now,” said Slemp.
    Special Areas feels the conditions protect the users of Little Fish Lake.
    “We felt it was important, because we wanted to make sure there was no spreading on weekends and the unit is very close to Little Fish Lake. We felt (the conditions) were reasonable, because people would come out to enjoy some recreation and they only have a limited amount of time to enjoy that. It was a legitimate concern raised and we tried to address it when the (Sunterra) lot was first approved back in the day,” said Slemp.
    A NRCB approval officer upheld most of the conditions, especially those that pertained to storage and spreading near water.
    Sunterra appealed and a hearing was held on March 12 in Drumheller. The NRCB board made its final decision on Friday, April 12. In their decision they upheld the approval officer’s decision.
    “The board is kind of an appeal party that operates separately from our approval officer, who initially rejected most of the changes asked by Sunterra,” said Bill Kennedy, general counsel with the NRCB.
    Sunterra rescinded their request to have a condition restricting them spreading less than 122 metres from any body of water removed citing the condition provides security for the cabin owners and other people using Little Fish Lake.
    In the end, Sunterra remains restricted in where and when it can spread manure. It cannot spread near any body of water and cannot spread on long weekends.

    The deadline for school boards and local bargaining groups to accept the province-wide framework deal between the Province and Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) is looming.
    With less than a month left, teachers and school boards in Golden Hills and Prairie Land Regional Divisions have yet to ratify the deal. 
    Teachers in the area will be meeting shortly to discuss the deal.
    “Right now, we have a general meeting with teachers on April 26. We’ll be putting the deal with the province on the table for our teachers to vote on,” said Steve Wiewel, chair of the Three Drums of Wheat No. 20 teachers' association.
    Teachers in Prairie Land will be meeting just prior to the deadline on May 8.
    “The teachers in Prairie Land will be able to express their opinions on the framework and to accept it or reject it,” said Doug Lerke, chair of Prairie Land No. 36.
    The four year framework deal freezes wages for three years and then, in the final year, gives teachers a two per cent wage increase and a lump sum payment.
    School divisions were left playing catch-up after the deal was announced. The Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA), was not involved in negotiating the deal. Prairie Land had a representative from Alberta Education go through the deal with them.
    “In terms of the framework, the board wasn’t totally clear on all the terms of the agreement,” said Wes Neumeier, superintendent of Prairie Land Regional Division.
    “There are a few key areas they wanted clarification on; the definition of instructional time and making sure it’s clear on what’s included and what’s not, the workload committee and the work involved in that, we’re being told to cut 10 per cent of adminstration costs, the grievance and appeal process, and the exceptions committee and how it would function.”
    Golden Hills is taking the time until the deadline to research the deal and consider its possible effects.
    “They’re (the board) still looking at the details of the agreement and there are still a number of questions on those details. The ASBA was not included in the process to reach this deal, so we’re playing catch-up to understand what’s in it,” said Bevan Daverne, superintendent of Golden Hills School Division. “I think our board is eager to use that time to be considerate about what the deal might mean.”
    The deal comes after the province had announced an impasse with the ATA and turned the bargaining process over to local school divisions. Each division was tasked with negotiating their own deals with teachers. Then, in March it was announced the Government of Alberta and ATA had reached a deal, without the ASBA.
    The last step will be for the local teachers’ associations and school boards to meet.
    “When it is accepted, we’ll still have to sit down with our local board and discuss areas not covered by the deal,” said Wiewell. “There are a number of areas that don’t deal with work load issues and salary issues.”
    The deadline to accept the deal set by the province is May 13.