December 22, 2006

Canada's Manitoba approves Maple Leaf's hog plant expansion

Canada's Manitoba province will issue environmental licenses that will allow Maple Leaf Foods Inc to expand its hog processing facility in Brandon, according to a release from the Manitoba Government.

The licenses were issued after Maple Leaf made a commitment to abide by stringent new wastewater standards, Manitoba Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said.

"Manitoba's waterways will benefit from Maple Leaf's commitment to aggressively invest in wastewater treatment upgrades," Struthers said.

Struthers said Maple Leaf will make an investment of C$10 million in wastewater treatment upgrades to on-site treatment and Brandon's industrial treatment facility. The upgrades will ensure compliance with the Clean Environment Commission's recommendations on nutrient limits.

Maple Leaf has committed to comply with a 15:1 nitrogen to phosphorus ratio by the end of 2007, the release said.

Maple Leaf's operation in Brandon was licensed for two full shifts when it was first constructed. But the City of Brandon only put in wastewater treatment capability that could handle one shift.

As a result, when the license to operate was granted under the province's Environment Act, it was documented that both Maple Leaf and the City of Brandon, prior to adding a second shift at the plant, would have to submit another application that would address that lack of waste-water capacity.

Maple Leaf's hog processing facility in Brandon, a two-hour drive west of Winnipeg, has been open since the beginning of September 1999. The plant when it first opened had a capacity of 1,250 hogs per hour.