MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF WEST HANTS
Falmouth Watershed Committee Meeting
January 21, 2010 9:37 a.m.

In Attendance: S. Pineo – Committee Chair, Councillor District 2
P. Ainslie – Councillor District 9
R. Gaudet – Councilor District 8
M. Edgar – Water/Wastewater System Lead Operator
J. Bourque – Planner
R. Brown – Public Works Administrative Assistant
D. MacNeill – Department of Environment
B. Curry – Landowner
H. Lavers – Department of Transportation
S. Marsters – Forester and the Wagner Representative
Absent: Representative from Department of Natural Resources
R. Neily
D. Porter

I. Call to Order
Chair Pineo called the meeting to order. She noted that 2 landowners were needed for a quorum and that R. Neily and D. Porter were called but not present so no decisions could be made but that the meeting would go on.

Chair Pineo noted that there were 2 new people at the meeting, Stephen Marsters who is a forester and also worked for Wagner as well as Hal Lavers from the Department of Transportation. Mr. Lavers stated he was just sitting in for Brad MacInnis, who had another meeting. She introduced the other committee members.

II. Approval of minutes from last meeting

Minutes from October 15, 2009 could not be approved as quorum was not reached. However Chair Pineo asked if there were any errors.
D. MacNeill noted on page 2, 4th paragraph the letters were to be sent to the Department of Transportation and Natural Resources not Departments of Environment and Natural Resources.

III. Open Issues
a. Landowners Concerns
Chair Pineo asked B. Curry if he had any concerns. He stated no. When D. MacNeill asked about the road he stated the snowmobile club had cut a lot of brush away on the road and snowmobile paths. This work was done by David Meehan and paid for by the club. Chair Pineo suggested that a letter of thanks be sent to the snow mobile club. B. Curry did note that last fall some construction debris, tree house, was deposited in the watershed; it is still there and now is covered with snow. Chair Pineo noted to have By-Law Enforcement officer Gary Lunn to look into it when snow is gone and maybe get C. McClare, Waste Coordinator monitor for a few days.

Chair Pineo noted that in the last minutes the condition of roads was discussed and ideas on ways to improve them. She asked H. Lavers about the reclassification of the K-Class Road to a Service Road, opportunity to obtain pieces of culvert, D. MacNeill asked about classification of road over French Mill Brook Bridge.
H. Lavers stated that he could not make decisions for the Dept. of Transportation but could take the questions back for us. He stated usually once a road is classed K, it does not usually convert back. There may be possibility concerning the culverts and he believes the road in question is a K-Class road over the French Mill Brook.

When asked about the possibility of Landowners Association, B. Curry stated he was not aware of any discussion with other landowners. B. Curry noted that not all landowners in the Protected Water Area border a road, only 7or 8 therefore not fair to make all landowners pay. Councillor Gaudet agreed that it would not be an easy sell if only 7-8 landowners.

M. Edgar asked S. Marsters to report on the land that was purchased from Mr. Zinck. S. Marsters described what a timber cruise was and looked for. He suggested that to best manage the forest, selection harvesting, thinning and patch cuts be done. He stated that the Municipality could be demonstrative of proper harvesting practices to other landowners. Funding could be acquired through grants from Association of Sustainable Forestry and by being a member of the Forest Product Association to aid harvesting and road upgrade cost, as well as through the sale of timber. Road Upgrades are necessary for harvesting to occur. No seeding would be required on the Municipal land. He stated that Wagner does plan to do some forestry work in the future. He stated, when asked, that timber prices are not at a high rate and most revenue is generated from softwood, mills are looking for wood. Also, if selling timber it may be best to hire a contractor to harvest and sell the timber for the Municipality. M. Edgar asked if S. Marsters could look into the request to use one of Wagner’s gravel pits. Councillor Gaudet inquired if the Municipality was going to pursue the harvesting. M. Edgar stated if approved by the committee and council. Councillor Gaudet suggested that more homework on the issue be done and harvesting be placed in the Watershed budget for all Municipal land. Chair Pineo noted to create a 5-10 year plan for the land. Chair Pineo stated she believes that money generated from the Watershed stay in the Watershed. Chair Pineo thanked S. Marsters for the report and stated his input as a forester is valuable. She invited him to attend future committee meetings.

b. Watershed Report
M. Edgar showed provincial fly-over pictures of the Watershed from 2003. Pictures are taken every 10 years. He explained the flight path and showed areas of harvesting that were done prior to 2003 before the regulations. Newer harvested area would not be shown. The next set of pictures is due in 2013. He is still working on getting picture from Google. S. Marsters stated he had pictures from 2007 of Wagner lands that showed some Watershed areas, he will forward these to M. Edgar.

M. Edgar discussed his thoughts on the previously suggested ideas for road maintenance. He stated the program for brush cut back could be done if only the areas surrounding the section road to be upgraded that year were cutback, as all the roads can not be upgraded the same year and the brush would re-grow if all done at once. He did not think stumpage fees could work without someone always watching. S. Marsters noted not all harvesting travels out on the watershed roads; some is taken out over the owners land. Chair Pineo suggested that stumpage fees not be considered.

The committee discussed responsibility of private road upgrades and K-Class roads. Councillor Gaudet stated that today’s problem is that the Municipality restricted that area as a watershed so why should a landowner maintain it. What was done in the past is in the past; today we have regulations as to how roads can be built. The committee noted that as the Municipality is responsible for ensuring safe water, that the Municipality could fix the private roads that may be causing contamination and try to recover the cost later from the land owner. On K-Class roads upgrades could be done with help from Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources, and grants.

M. Edgar stated he had not been in the Watershed recently. Also, some work has been done around the dam at the Water plant.

Chair Pineo stated letters to Dept. of Environment have been sent requesting that Gary Lunn be authorized to enforce Watershed regulations and issue tickets, waiting for a response. D. MacNeill mentioned she thinks the Dept. of Environment has set a meeting for next week to talk with the CAO.

IV. New Business
D. MacNeill mentioned that the Dept. of Environment website now has maps of all watersheds in Nova Scotia.

The next regular Falmouth Watershed Committee meeting will be on April 15, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.

V. Adjournment
Councillor Pineo declared the meeting adjourned at 11:00am.

[Original signed by:]
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Shirley Pineo, Chair