Proposed: Commercial Light Industry and Storage Sites at Star Lake

Hello

 I am a cabin co-owner at Star Lake, Manitoba.

 My answer is NO to Commercial Light Industry and Storage Sites at our lake or at McDougalls Landing (at West Hawk Lake).

 Star Lake has no businesses and we need to keep it like that. It is a beautiful lake to be at, or for people to visit.

 The proposed site is not a remote area away from the lake, but is close to many cottages and to our main road. The area is part of us and the enjoyment of being at the lake.

These proposed sites would just be the beginning, 15 becomes 30 becomes 100 and beyond.

The best and final answer should be 0.

 Why is it that a few government people and people from other lakes – NOT STAR – can suddenly choose our lake for industry? Who are these people? Also, if people need an off-site location then that is not a “cottage based” business.

Why were letters mailed out at the end of August, when the “plan” is dated February 21, 2020 on the Government of Manitoba website and the photo with the letter showing the proposed sites is dated March 2, 2020? Why was it not mentioned that two other site proposals in the park have been rejected? I don’t call that transparent, do you?

 Parks were created in Manitoba to protect beautiful areas of our province, not to destroy them. Pristine not pollution. Green space not industrialization.

People buy cottages or visit the Park for the quiet, the peace, the wilderness, the escape.  We come to hike nearby, photograph, see wildlife, and just to take the time to pause and really look.

 At the meeting, it was asked why the dump was relocated to the Transfer Station west of Falcon Lake. One of the reasons was due to propane tanks being exploded, causing fire, as well as chemical leaching. We decided to check into this further.

Closing of the dump at Star Lake was due to the grounds at the waste disposal contaminating the groundwater that flowed into Star Lake. (G.S. Karp 1987 and CCME - Canadian Council of Ministers for the Environment - 1987 reports.). This is also why the community water pumps were closed at Star Lake.

The Star Lake dump may have contributed to high mercury levels in the Star Lake sediment that were still in samples taken in 2003. And this was not a large dump site. This new area of concern is much larger.

 Another factor is that Star Lake water affects most of the Whiteshell.

On the Whiteshell Cottagers Association website there is a water flow map. Water flows from Star to West Hawk and continues north to the Whiteshell and Winnipeg River systems.

The run-off from these proposed business sites (with washrooms, old boat oil, etc.) and storage areas (with rusted construction vehicles, landscaping chemicals, etc.) affects many more regions of the park than Star or McDougalls Landing.

 There were expenses made to convert the old dump back to a natural state.

There was a lot of time and effort invested in the recovery as well.

All that beauty and victory achieved; just so some people can randomly pick this site to destroy it (and more) all again.

Sustainable Development means that closed dumps and landfills should be carefully restored and used for passive recreational activities such as green spaces and parks. Not the dangerous activity of excavating them and building upon them.

 There are other major factors to reject the plans as well.

Star Lake has been zoned as a Special Area by the Manitoba Government. Star Lake has the ancient sub-marine lava pillows as well as part of the Falcon Lake Intrusive Complex. We are a magma conduit to a continental volcano! A source of this information is at the Geological Sciences of the University of Manitoba.

 The Government of Manitoba Park Management Master Plan states that “commercial resource must not be permitted to encroach upon or occur within Special areas.”

 In the vicinity for these proposed sites are Lady Slipper orchids. They are endangered provincially and nationally - declared as such under the Endangered Species Act. The endangered Lady Slippers occur in Manitoba, Ontario and 15 States in the U.S.

If a Lady Slipper is picked it will not rejuvenate itself. The plants have less than a 5% transplant success rate and are considered “off-limits”.

In 2019 a Manitoba judge fined a farmer $1000.00 after the farmer willfully went against orders not to disturb the habitat of a rare prairie orchid. Now there is talk of bulldozing over 4000 feet of this kind of land – how much would the fines be for that?

 I agree with the points brought up by other Star Lakers and the many friends of Star Lake:

• Safety for adults, children, babies, and pets to walk, jog, or ride bikes up the road to join up with the TransCanada Trail would be at a much greater risk.

• Our little lake has done enough already – we have the Hydro Station, the University research station, the cell phone tower, the bible camp, the subdivision

• LET A PARK BE A PARK, please

Sincerely

Allyson Brown
September 17, 2020