Faced with the controversy sparked by their piggery project for nearly 12,000 pigs in the village of Saint-Adelphe, in Mauricie, the promoters are postponing their application for a building permit.
Posted at 6:21 p.m.
Those responsible for the project to set up the “pig farm complex” have decided “by mutual agreement to ask the municipality to postpone the issuance of the building permit”, they announced in a press release on Monday afternoon. .
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The village of Saint-Adelphe.
Acknowledging that “several residents of the region have raised legitimate concerns”, the promoters say they want to “use this waiting period to plan and implement a consultation and information committee which will notably be made up of experts independent in order to answer all the questions”.
The municipal council of Saint-Adelphe was to adopt its resolution to grant the building permit on February 7. The three buildings of 3999 pigs each separated by 150 meters having already received their certificates of authorization from the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, the municipality could attach certain conditions to the building permit, but did not have legal grounds to refuse it.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Paul Labranche, Mayor of Saint-Adelphe
The authorization certificates were obtained by Cultures Excel, a sister company of Patates Dolbec, the largest potato producer in Quebec, established in Saint-Ubalde, a neighboring municipality of Saint-Adelphe. However, the operation of the pigsty must be assumed by a joint venture, the Regroupement porcin Avantis-Olymel. Rather, Dolbec’s role would be to use the slurry to fertilize the thousands of acres it cultivates in the region. The initiator of the project is Vincent Nadeau-Morissette, specifies the press release released Monday.
Residents of Saint-Adelphe and water conservation organizations had expressed serious concerns about the future pigsty, which was the subject of a petition on the website of the National Assembly.
“Our duty as a responsible company is to answer these questions satisfactorily and to obtain a higher level of social acceptance,” declared Patates Dolbec’s general manager, Hugo D’Astous.
“Although the project complies with all the regulations in force, there are still several important steps to be taken, including the request for authorization for the water withdrawal which must be presented to the Ministry of the Environment”, explain the promoters, noting that “This single step pushes the construction schedule beyond 2022.”
A new request for a permit for the construction of a first building can be made “once this step has been completed”, they specify.