Springton mink farm approved

The provincial government has given the green light for a new mink farm in Springton, P.E.I.

Environment Minister Richard Brown said Tuesday that the proposed farm passed the environmental review.

"They meet all the specifications and all the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act," he said.

The province approved an application from Ryan MacPhee to build two mink barns that would house about 2,000 breeding female minks.

The barns would house up to 10,000 animals during peak periods, after the females give birth.

Brown said all the concerns of area residents were reviewed before the approval was given.

Odour was a major concern.

"All manure will be stored in the buildings," Brown said. "It will be shipped off-site on to another site, where it will be composted for the winter and spread on the land the next summer."

He said the composting site is approximately five kilometres from the farm, and it will be shared with another mink farm in the area.

More than 100 signatures were collected from people living in the communities of Springton and Stanchel, who were concerned about air quality and the quality of their drinking water with a mink farm nearby.

They called for a public hearing about the proposed farm, but the approval was given without a hearing.

Brown said he did not feel a public hearing was necessary because mink farming is a common practice in P.E.I. There are about a dozen other mink farms in the province.