The provincial government wants to make it easier to build hog barns and manure storage facilities.
The move is part of the government's effort to reduce red tape and unnecessary regulations.
Manitoba Pork General Manager Andrew Dickson says the proposed legislation would see the removal of a clause in the Environment Act that mandated the use of anaerobic digesters for hog operations.
"They've taken that legislation out, it was redundant," he commented. "The previous government had already admitted that these things don't work and we could build barns with two-cell lagoons...All the regulations that deal with manure storage and handling and application to land are all still in place."
Dickson says he's seen in some cases where an anaerobic digester could cost over a million dollars to install, adding the equipment did nothing to protect the environment.
Source : Portageonline