October 3, 2024

The Queens County Citizen

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Wetlands and chorus frog | Six bales of hay to save an endangered species

Wetlands and chorus frog |  Six bales of hay to save an endangered species

Six bales of hay, one race in danger, one promoter, one city, Quebec and Ottawa. These include an interesting battle on the south coast of Montreal, where a real estate developer faces criminal prosecution for illegally carrying out drainage works in the swamps on the edge of the Boyce du Tremblay in Langue.


Eric-Pierre ChampagneEric-Pierre Champagne
Tap

Tap The Ministry of Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change (MECC) has launched a criminal investigation into a real estate developer who worked in the swamp without permission in the critical habitat of the endangered species Chorus Frog. He received a notice on December 15 for violations of the Environmental Quality Act (LQE).

The developer has dug six drainage canals on his land, but three are also on neighboring land, two of which belong to the city of Langueil and the other to Frank and Palo Catania. This work released the sediments into a stream.

“The investigation has been launched with a view to criminal prosecution,” MELCC spokesman Daniel Messier confirmed. Target Company, a number company, one of the co-owners of which is the Shatony Group, stated that “as MELCC recognizes, there is no swamp on its land.” However, the ministry confirms that “there is actually a lot of wetland”.

The possibility of criminal proceedings, however, does not guarantee those who consult experts Tap, They are concerned that the complex habitats of the chorus frog will be destroyed at least next spring.

The Boise du Tremble population is “one of the most important populations in Quebec, and in this sense species conservation is essential for its conservation,” the Minister des Forts, de la Foun et des Parks (MFFP) noted.

Work without pre-inspections

According to the inspection report produced on the 1stIs In December, the company “made no confirmations or requests to MELCC prior to undertaking the work”. Chhattisgarh stated that “there are no possible outlets other than the current at 5097010″ [qui appartient à la ville] To drain its land. ”

The developer said he had permission from his neighbors to dig his canals there, but he had no contract with the flowing longuil. He adds that he did not believe he needed the authority because the city had official documents for “residential development in this area”.

The Language actually contains the certification documents of the authority for the possible subdivision, which are provided in the framework of the Special Town Planning Plan (PPU). However, it does provide for the integrity of RFGO’s reproduction sites (ponds). [rainette faux-grillon de l’Ouest] And spaces around them ”.

Shatony has until Jan. 15 to execute or enforce the “Corrective Action Plan” to comply with the law. The MELCC certifies that it has received the “recovery plan” and that “it is in the process of verification”.

Note that the city also asked MELCC to rehabilitate its land.

Related Experts

Photo by Martin Chamberland, Lapress

Tommy Montpitt, director of the Seal at Terre Company in Longuyil

For Tommy Montpitt, director of the Seal at Terre Company in Longyouil, “It’s like spraying firefighters’ sheds when the house is on fire.” “It simply came to our notice then. But unfortunately this is a situation that occurs regularly in Quebec. ”

This is the view of Michel La Hay, a biologist who has specialized in aquatic fauna for 35 years. “That’s it Scrap Habitats. It’s not just small professional steps, it does anything about it. These habitats need to be repaired and restored. ”

Alain Branchaud, director of the Society for the Nature and Parks of Quebec (SNAP), said his organization “did not exclude any legal action when it saw swamps violating and destroying the tree frog’s habitat.” An emergency decree can be requested to protect the species’ habitats in Langueil, which took place in 2016 in La Prairie.

Six bales of hay

The company proposes to produce an environmental report in mid-June to delimit and identify the wetlands on their land. As a temporary mitigation measure to meet the MELCC requirements for sediment release in water, it has set up six bales of hay.

The ministry was reluctant to confirm whether the use of hay was requested or approved. In the email sent Tap, Sasha Kote, project manager for Shatony, said the work was “done after consultation with the city” [de Longueuil] And MELCC following the recommendations of the biologist ”. “Our company is aware and concerned about environmental issues and in this sense, we hope to follow the recommendations of the biologist, in full cooperation with the city and MELCC,” he said.

“The city of Languele said it had observed Shatoni’s decision to do his job, something it had never approved of,” said its spokesman Carl Boycewart.

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