December 31, 2020
Province Announces Consultation on Nutrient Targets for Lake Winnipeg
– – –Nutrient Targets to Provide Benchmarks for Measuring Progress: Pedersen
Consultations will begin tomorrow, Jan. 1, on a proposed nutrient targets regulation under the Water Protection Act, Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen announced today.
“Lake Winnipeg is one of Manitoba’s greatest treasures, and the Manitoba government remains committed to improving water quality and reducing the frequency and severity of algal blooms,” said Pedersen. “The proposed nutrient targets will provide important guidance for nutrient reduction activities and establish benchmarks for measuring progress.”
The Sustainable Watershed Act, which received royal assent in 2018, enabled the development of nutrient targets for Lake Winnipeg and its tributaries. The Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan called for the development and implementation of targets for nutrient reduction including for the Lake Winnipeg watershed. The Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan also committed to innovative approaches such as water quality trading that would depend on the establishment of nutrient targets.
The minister noted that establishing and implementing nutrient objectives and targets is expected to help Manitoba’s collective nutrient reduction efforts by helping guide future nutrient reduction activities, implementing best practices, identifying priorities and tracking progress over time.
The development of nutrient targets is a proactive approach to water management and will also improve the co-ordination of watershed activities, enhance watershed plan development and implementation and make it easier for partners to allocate financial resources where they will provide the most benefit to the watershed, he added.
To learn more about the proposed nutrient targets regulation and to provide comments, visit the Manitoba Regulatory Consultation Portal at https://reg.gov.mb.ca. Comments are invited through Feb. 26, 2021.
- 30 -