Shelburne, 17 Others, Spoke Out on Quarries

7/31/2019 Shelburne, 17 Others, Spoke Out on Quarries

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Shelburne 17 others spoke out on

quarriesBy WES KELLER

Freelance Reporter

If local recommendations to the Ontario Legislatures Standing

Committee on General Government are implemented as amendments to

the Aggregate Resources Act, there would, among other things, be:

fewer belowwater table quarries; a de-emphasis of mining close to

markets; greater recycling of concrete; and greater protection of prime

agricultural land.

Shelburne Deputy Mayor Ken Bennington was among 18 presenters to

the committee on behalf of town council. In an emailed response apart

from the meeting, he said the council has three main concerns with

quarries in general.

Quarries extracting aggregate below the water table can cause

potential, irreversible depletion of the aquifer; thus, homeowners and

municipalities using wells and/or municipal wells would suffer lack of

potable water;

Where a quarry is extracting below the water table, it must dewater the

quarrying site. This can cause contamination of the aquifer by

contaminants from the quarrying operations being pumped back into the

aquifer, thus rendering the potable water from the aquifers unsuitable

for human consumption.

The third principal concern is with the destruction of irreplaceable

farmland that currently provides foods for Ontarians and employment

both on farms and in supporting industries, he said.


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Deputy Mayor Bennington referred to The Highland Companies

contention that the bottom of the quarry would be returned to

agricultural use as a pipe dream. First, it will be well below the water

table and require dewatering for eternity. Secondly, the cost of the

dewatering will be an enormous financial burden for the Township

and/or the Province, he said.

His rationale on farmland is enlightening: Class 1 to 3 agricultural land

represents only 5% of the Canadas total land base. Ontario has 51% of

all Class 1 agricultural land in Canada.

The Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society reported in 2002 that

over 1.5 million hectares of agricultural lands have been lost to non-agricultural uses in Ontario between 1966 and 2002 (the last years for

which I have published figures).

He says more aggregates could be recycled: Currently, the Ministry of

Transport requires using a 20% content of recycled aggregate in

Provincial Highway or Transportation construction. This should be

increased to 90% as a minimum. This is not an unachievable tar- get.

As well, In 2006, the Environmental Commissioner raised concerns

about the unconstrained consumption of Ontarios aggregate resources

(and) in his 2004/05 Annual Report to the Ontario Legislature, (he)

pointed out that aggregate extraction on the North Shore of Lake

Superior by Superior Aggregates (a subsidiary of a American contracting

and road-building company), was sanctioned by the Ministry of Natural

Resources without a proper assessment under the Act.

In his presentation to the committee, Mr. Bennington called for a fullenvironmental assessment of all aggregate quarries, with the

unambiguous conclusion by all participants that any negative impacts

will not occur. Any possibility for the contamination of aquifers must be

avoided. Ontario's Precautionary Principle must be the core of the

Aggregate Resources Act.


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He would prohibit aggregate extraction below the water table in all

drinking water source areas, and said that all of the owners/

shareholders, directors, officers, managers and supervisors of any

aggregate quarrying operation should be held personally responsible,

and not able to hide behind the corporate veil, for any environmental

damage caused by the operation of the quarry even after it has ceased

its quarrying operations.

The deputy mayors presentation reflected an earlier one by Melancthon

resident Robert Wells with respect to a provincial preference for mining

close to market.

Mr. Wells, who had presented from the perspective of a professionaleconomist, would impose a higher licence fee on high risk and

socially costly quarries than on those further removed from water

sources and prime agricultural land.

Mr. Bennington said the Town does not agree with the policy that

aggregate must be mined as close to its final use as possible. The

additional cost of shipping aggregate from distant points within the

province is, in the long run, more beneficial and retains our Provincial

natural resources for use within the Province of Ontario.

He added that all aggregate mined in Ontario must be used within

Ontario and not be permitted to be shipped offshore. We must retain

this depleting resource for our own use.

He said Shelburne council is investigating the feasibility of passing a

municipal bylaw requiring that all demolished concrete and aggregate

within the municipality must be recycled, and called for the ARA torequire that all demolished concrete products be recycled into new

concrete products and not permitted to be dumped into landfills. While

this may slightly increase the cost of dealing with demolition waste, it

retains most of the value of our resource. If Ontario is to have an

economically viable future, we must conserve our aggregate which, in

our opinion, is a depleting resource.


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He said quarry applications, including those for extension of existing

mines, should be subjected to a thorough review process under the

Environmental Bill of Rights. This review should encompass all relevant

Acts such as, at the very least, the Ontario Water Resources Act, the

Environmental Protection Act and the Mining Act.

He said that all Class 1, 2, and 3 farmland on which food crops can be

grown must remain as such and not permit the extraction of aggregate

from beneath that land. We recommend development of a process,

with the relevant guidelines, to define and protect our agricultural land

resources.

In summary, our Council feels that there are serious issues respectingaggregate quarrying operations that must be recognized as such within

the Province of Ontario This Committee has the unique opportunity of

protecting these issues.

Good agricultural land in Ontario is at a premium. Our residents depend

upon it for their food and in many cases, their livelihood. The resource of

potable water within our province is depleting. Water is indispensable to

our lives.

We must do everything to protect its source and conserve its use. Weencourage you to make recommendations to revise the Act, itsRegulations and, encourage the revision of other relevant Acts to ensurethat Ontario's agricultural land is protected for agricultural uses andOntario's water supply is not depleted or contaminated and remains aviable resource for our citizens, he said in conclusion.

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Shelburne, 17 Others, Spoke Out on Quarries