R.M. denies application for land for new North Bay lagoon in Buckland
After a gavel pounding heavy second public hearing for a proposed lagoon in the Rural Municipality of Buckland, lawmakers voted 4-3 to deny the proposal.
The lagoon was set to occupy a 160-acre parcel of land approximately two miles west of Highway 2, near Red Wing Road. The new structure is needed to replace the failing system for the park.
“There were good arguments on both sides of the fence, just the cards didn’t fall in favour today,” Reeve Don Fyrk said, who admitted he voted in favour and was shocked by the result. “We did a lot of work behind the scenes that nobody knows trying to solve this and it just didn’t come to bear.”
A July vote on the application was tabled by councillors, as they sought clarity on changes to a planning document relating to setback distances for lagoons, or liquid waste management facilities, from wells and homes. Within the updated document, setback distances from liquid waste management facilities to wells were reduced from 1,600 metres to 600 metres to align with Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency (WSA) standards.