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Cyanobacteria 2010Cyanobacteria are back earlier than ever on June 13th, 2010... Here are a few pictures taken in Magog, Austin, Potton... .JPG) .JPG) .JPG) .JPG) Our patrollers are showing reporters how everybody can make a difference...The appearance of blue-green algae bloom is a significant sign of deterioration of the lake, and we must all do what we can to eliminate the problem. We must start by considerably reducing the sources of phosphorus. The MMDEP tests the water at regular intervals during the summer and issued “Memos” on the results. Again this year, MCI has put into place a network of volunteer sentinels who monitor the lake daily, reporting on cyanobacteria blooms, as well as any other issues concerning the quality of the water in the lake. The observations collected are forwarded to the MDDEP, and the municipalities concerned. We need your help in order to track and record these problems! -Become a sentinel, by signing up at info@memphremagog.org - Take a look at our observation criteria- Download our observation form and send to us at info@memphremagog.org Consult our web site to learn more on the subject!Everyone is part of the solution, have a look on our Guide for watersshed residents to learn more (French version online).
A combined victory for MCI and Coalition Parc Orford: Law 90 voted on May 25th, 2010 for the protection of the ecological and territorial integrity of the Parc national du Mont-Orford
 MCI is proud for its contribution in the SOS Parc Orford win to preserve the integrity of the Parc national du Mont-Orford! Law 90 !
Below, the last Press Release of Coalition Parc Orford, dated May 25th, 2010 (in French only):
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Parc national du Mont-Orford : Victoire citoyenne !
Orford, le 25 mai 2010. Quatre ans après le début de cette saga, SOS Parc Orford crie enfin Victoire! Le projet de loi 90, Loi concernant le parc national du Mont-Orford, a été adopté le 25 mai 2010 par l’ensemble des députés. Cette loi décrète notamment le retour des 459 hectares exclus à l’intérieur du parc national du Mont-Orford. Après quatre ans de saga, la Coalition SOS Parc Orford peut enfin célébrer le retour des terres. Le respect de l’intégrité écologique et territoriale du parc est maintenant assuré.
Rappelons qu’une pétition de 86 000 noms a été déposée à l’Assemblée nationale le 2 juin 2006 demandant le retour des 459 hectares dans le parc. S’ajoute à cela trois grands rassemblements populaires, donc celui dans les rues de Montréal en avril 2006 qui a réuni plus de 12 000 personnes.
SOS Parc Orford tient à remercier et partager cette victoire avec tous les citoyens(nes) qui ont donné leur appui, sans oublier les nombreux artistes, avocats, donateurs, manifestants, experts, groupes environnementaux, bénévoles, etc. Aujourd’hui est un grand jour pour l’ensemble des citoyen(nes) qui ont à coeur la conservation de leur patrimoine.
Cette bataille aura marqué l’histoire de la conservation au Québec. Jamais plus un gouvernement n’essaiera d’exclure ou pire, de vendre, des terres protégées légalement. Sans aucun doute, les citoyens et les groupes demeureront vigilants quant au futur de l’ensemble du réseau des aires protégées au Québec.
Tous les sympathisants de SOS Parc Orford sont invités à la prochaine assemblée annuelle le samedi 11 septembre prochain qui aura pour but de mettre fin aux activités de la coalition.
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AU SUJET DE LA COALITION SOS PARC ORFORD
La coalition SOS PARC ORFORD a été créée avec l'objectif de protéger l’intégrité écologique et territoriale du Parc national du Mont-Orford, de mettre fin aux démarches de vente d'une partie du parc. La coalition poursuit sont travail jusqu’à ce que les 459 hectares soient réintégrés dans le Parc national, sous la protection de la Loi sur les parcs. Elle regroupe les partenaires principaux suivants : Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada (SNAP), Nature Québec, CREE, Regroupement Orford pour un parc sans condos auquel, s’ajoute en date de ce jour, plus de 86 000 citoyennes et citoyens du Québec.
SOURCE: COALITION SOS PARC ORFORD
Information: Claude Dallaire, coordonnateur – Cellulaire (819) 578-7083
Mélanie Desrochers – Cellulaire (514) 836-8497
Dunn Property on Lake Memphremagog
 MCI salutes the MRNF who has accepted the Dunn property donation!
Thank you again to all the citizens who have written to the MRNF to urge them to accept this donation!
A press release was issued on February 25th.
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Donation summary:
 The generosity of a Lake Memphremagog citizen presents a unique opportunity to preserve forever an 880-acre property straddling the Canadian-American border on Lake Memphremagog.
The issue is sizeable for Lake Memphremagog, taking into account the ecological value of the property and the rarity of properties of this size that remain around the Lake. This land boasts both wooded and wetland sectors along with over 2 miles of lakeshore. In the context of an integrated management plan by watershed that takes into account an ecosystem approach that is advocated by Memphrémagog Conservation Inc. (MCI), it is essential to preserve the maximum of natural milieus in order to protect the ecosystem of Lake Memphremagog, along with the quality of its drinking water.
A refusal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to accept this donation, could lead to the sale of the property, given that the market value would be around 10 million dollars. This amount would be transferred to the New York Museum of Modern Art, which has already received a post-mortem bequest of 10 million dollars from Mr. Dunn’s estate. In addition to losing the property for purposes of conservation, it’s likely that the land will fall victim to development, bringing new pressures on the ecosystem of the Lake.
Beyond its ecological value, the Dunn property could become the symbol of the trans-border conservation of an ecosystem, crossing over both territorial and administrative jurisdictions of Vermont and Québec.
People of the community and several American and Québec organizations have made their concerns known in regards to the possible refusal to accept the donation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. MCI will do all in its power to see that the property is protected.
Our organization is even willing to act as a partner in the creation of a dedicated fund to assist in the future management of the property. Moreover, certain individuals have already manifested an interest in contributing to such a fund.
It is imperative that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rapidly honor the goodwill of Mr. Dunn who, by his exceptional gesture, wanted to assure himself that his property would be protected in perpetuity for the enjoyment of the present generation and for generations to come.
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To learn more about this file (letters, news, etc.), click on to our Website on "Document center" and then "Dunn Property".
 The Land use and Developprement Plan of the MRC Memphrémagog
MCI is closely watching the amendment process for the MRC’s land use and development plan because the guidelines for development of this master plan will have a very considerable impact on the environment.
The MRC’s land use and development plan is the planning tool for development in our region. The MRC has adopted on April 15th 2009 the new version called "Premier projet de schéma d'aménagement et de développement révisé". & Maps.
Unfortunately public consultations are not part of the process until the end, which will be around February 2010. The MCI has asked that citizens be consulted earlier in the process but the MRC has refused our request.
Hopefully, the MRC accepted to receive our "mémoire" at this point. The MCI presented it to MRC on August 31st, 2009, following our related Press Conference held in the morning at Magog. We delivered our message to the Press, sharing our "mémoire" and explaining its content.
Our brief (English version) is now online! We invite you to refer to our other related documents (maps, reference documents).
Magog Dump Site
The MCI participated at the public consultations conducted  by the BAPE which took place in Magog on May 22 and 23, 2007 and presented a brief on June 18, 2007 during the second part of the hearings. MCI is still waiting for the decision of the Ministre du développement durable, de l’environnement et des parcs.
November 5th 2008, La Tribune wrote that Waste Management announced it would suspend its request for the dump site expension for an unknowed period. The journalist wrote:« ...it is possible that Waste Management feared that the Government decision would not be in their favor»
File to folow.
PHASE V of the proposal land fill site at Coventry in Vermont
This is a snapshot of the Coventry, VT landfill issue with its potential threat to the health of Lake Memphremagog.
Although Vermont represents only 25% of the lake’s surface area, it contributes 75% of the water volume flowing into the lake; primarily provided by four rivers in the Vermont watershed: the Black, Barton, Clyde and Johns.
Coventry is a small town lying just south of Newport. It contains a landfill operation, operated by New England Waste Services of Vermont Inc. (NEWSVT), a subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems of Rutland, Vermont. An expansion (Phase IV) was authorized in 2004 bringing the site to about 80 acres in size and capable of handling 335,000 metric tons annually. Another expansion proposal of approximately 15 acres (Phase V) is now going through the preparation stages for applying. NEWSVT has reported that it owns or controls an additional 900 acres in and around the landfill site. NEWSVT has a “sweetheart deal” with the town giving it a “tipping fee” for each ton of garbage. This annual gift to Coventry averages almost $600,000. Additionally, free college scholarships are offered and citizens pay no municipal taxes, only school taxes: i.e.. a political mine-field.
MCI supports the view that no case can be made for building a mega dumpsite on the shores of Lake Memphremagog and the “Precautionary Principle” established in 1982 by the UN should hold sway. MCI has no argument with the technology being touted by NEWSVT – it’s probably leading edge - but who can guarantee that sometime in the future the technology will stand up to human error in the construction process, physical breakage caused by heavy machinery or the advent of blocked drains over a lifetime? Additionally, who can guarantee that no hazardous material will ever find its way into the site? A toxic spill could spell disaster for the Quebec citizens who drink its water (currently about 150,000 of them).
MCI attended all Phase IV Act 250 public hearings without holding party status. We were joined by The City of Sherbrooke and MRC Memphremagog both of whom had secured party status. (At that time we were told that party status required legal representation which MCI was unable to afford). The hearings saw Sherbrooke and MRC initially gain significant contributions to a post-post closure fund only to have these pared down to a small fraction following an appeal by NEWSVT.
News of the Phase V proposal surfaced in February 2006 and over two years later NEWSVT has yet to present its application. This time around we learned that we did not require legal counsel for party status and we were welcome to apply. Our October 2006 request for party status could be found in the archives. We will not know the answer to our request till two weeks prior to the Act 250 hearings.
No doubt proponents of an enlarged dumpsite will label any effort to curtail expansion as a prime example of the “not in my back yard” (NIMBY) syndrome. As in many other landfill instances, the “back yard” in this case started off life years ago as an unused farmer’s field, which the farmer made available to receive other’s trash. None of us knew then what we know today. Knowing better, it’s patently irresponsible to exacerbate a mistake of the past.
MCI has an excellent relationship with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR). Over a three month period we negotiated with its Deputy Secretary to execute in 2005 our Operation Healthy Lake study around the Vermont shoreline using the same Québec-based team and protocol that was used in Québec the year previous. ANR paid two thirds - MCI one third. This first ever study of the entire lake made history. In the last two years we have seen the start up of a volunteer watershed association in Newport: the Memphremagog Watershed Association. It closely mirrors MCI in its mission and we have representation on each other’s Board of Directors.
Donald Fisher
Boats
In 2000, MCI estimated there were more than 4,000 water craft on Lake Memphremagog, including motor boats, sailboats, kayaks and canoes. Water sports have environmental and social impacts that need to be assessed. We are considering researching the various by-laws and regulations and actions taken elsewhere in Canada and the United States related to water-based activities on reservoirs for potable water.
Overall, water sports have environmental impacts that include disposal of waste water including grey water; oil spills and stirring up sediments on the bottom. One thing is certain: there are not enough pumping stations on Lake Memphremagog to handle the waste water (sewage) tanks of all the boats on the lake.
In addition, the excessive noise of speed boats is a nuisance for all who use the lake and the residents of the entire region. We are asking municipal authorities to enforce their nuisance by-laws and we have asked the police to enforce by-laws that fall within their jurisdiction. We encourage users and residents of the region to make formal complaints to the SQ and the MRC patrol to create pressure that will help get rid of this nuisance that threatens everyone’s quality of life.
Sûreté du Québec 819 310-4141
MRC Memphrémagog lake patrol 819 620-7669 or 819 821-0435
Quebec-Vermont Steering Commitee
Magog, October 13th, 2008 : Le MCI est honoré d’avoir été nommé membre officiel du comité Québec-Vermont. Lors d’une rencontre tenue lundi le 6 octobre dernier à Newport dans l’état du Vermont, le Premier Ministre Jean Charest et le gouverneur du Vermont M. James H. Douglas ont signé un décret stipulant que le Memphrémagog Conservation et l’organisme jumeau du Vermont, le Memphrémagog Watershed Association sont membres à part entière du Comité Québec-Vermont.
La présidente madame Gisèle Lacasse Benoit a déclaré : «Nous sommes très heureux que le premier ministre M. Charest et le gouverneur Douglas reconnaissent l’excellent travail fait par notre organisme bénévole qui se dévoue depuis 41 ans pour protéger la santé environnementale du lac Memphrémagog et de son bassin versant»
Le MCI siégeait depuis plusieurs années au Comité Québec-Vermont à titre d’observateur et l’implication de ses membres a mené à la mise en place d’actions concrètes par ce comité.
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