February 2012 Objection Letter on Acton Quarry
The Acton quarry footprint for new license and expansion has been reduced by 33% through recognition of significant wetlands and habitat for the endangered species, Jefferson Salamander. While this is good news, there are still many real concerns with the application, including the fact that a good portion of the remaining area is considered Jefferson habitat, the impact on the wetlands if the area is mined below the water-table, and the fact that one of the cells is coming very close to the urban area of Acton. In February P.O.W.E.R. received a letter from Dufferin/Holcim that meant we had to respond or we it would have been considered that we no longer objected to mining on the Niagara Escarpment. Click here to see our February 2012 objection letter.
Joint Agency Review Team
The JART is made up of technical experts and agencies and reviews the technical information that is supplied by Dufferin. This is not a final report but an interim update.
To review the 2010 status report form JART click here.
To review February 2012 JART report learn more about the work done to date by JART click here
P.O.W.E.R. Objects to New Aggregate Resource Application for the Acton Area 2010
P.O.W.E.R. has submitted its' letter of objection to Dufferin Aggregates application for a new license to mine in the Acton area, adjacent to the existing quarry. P.O.W.E.R. has objected to the license based on numerous reasons in cluding, water, BioDiversity impacts, Niagara Escarpment and Greenbelt legislation, Multilateral Environmental Agreements, the relationship of the quarry to 10 year frameworks for sustainable production and consumption, and, the footprint of the quarry. To read the submission click here.
Aggregate Proposal Area for Acton Quarry and Aggregate Operations in Halton Maps click here
New License to make Acton Quarry bigger ? No Thank You
Dufferin Aggregates, a division of Holchim, is looking to add 124 hectares below the water table with an annual extraction of 4,000,000 Tons (with license 5492) in Acton. Quarry. Acton Quarry has been operating for over 50 years. P.O.W.E.R. believes that is is time to stop quarrying in the Acton area. The community and environment has given for years, and while there may be more aggregate there, it is time to stop mining aggregate in the Acton area so that the promised restoration can truly begin. P.O.W.E.R. is objecting and opposing the Acton Quarry. If you want to do the same, please send your letter of objection by June 15 to both the Ministry of Natural resources and Dufferin. Tell the Town of Halton Hills and the region of Halton too. Speak Out! Join in! Help Protect Our Water, Environmental Resources, and Quality of Life. Get Involved contact P.O.W.E.R. to find out more
At the JART pubplic meeting, P.O.W.E.R. requested to see the JART reports. It was inferred that we potentially would not understand them. In response to this, P.O.W.E.R. has written a letter formally requesting these materials as well as other information. We will let you know what happensJune updates
December 2010
Dufferin suggested and the Town of Halton Hills has agreed to host a meeting on the rehabilitation plan for the Acton Quarry. It appears that there could be a suggestion that if the rehabilitation plan is approved, the Town supports the application for a new license. The meeting is supposed to take place sometime in February. This is troublesome. Please check back or sign up by email to be notified of this and other meetings on the Acton Quarry.
http://www.halton.caplanning_sustainability/planning_applications/applications_under_review/dufferin_aggregates_acton/
http://www.dufferinactonquarry.com/en/whatsnew/whats_new.asp
Location: Acton District High School, 21 Cedar Road, Acton, Ontario, L7J 2V2. Link to Acton Quarry website
P.O.W.E.R. does not support the application to change land use so that another 124 hectres/306 acres is licensed for extraction, nor the idea of active quarrying in the Acton area for another 18-24 years.
On Monday November 29, 2010 there will be a review by the Joint Agency Review Team (JART) on the technical merits of the proposal by Differin Aggregates.
DATE: Monday November 29, 2010
TIME: 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM - OPEN HOUSE
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM - PRESENTATION and Q & A
LOCATION: Acton District High School, Cafeteria
21 Cedar Road, ACTON
January 2011
Tuesday June 1, 2010 - Public Information Session #6 - Aggregate Resources Act Mandatory Notification
P.O.W.E.R. Appealing Permit To Take Water for Acton Quarry
P.O.W.E.R. was denied the right to appeal the water taking permit in 2009
On December 4, 2008, P.O.W.E.R. filed to seek Leave to Appeal the Acton Quarry Permit To Take Water to the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT). The ERT is expexted to reach a decision on if P.O.W.E.R. will be granted standing by the end of April, 2009
Dufferin Aggregates Milton Quarry
To read the press release jointly issued by P.O.W.E.R. and CONE regarding Cabinet's decision on the Dufferin Aggregate quarry expansion, click here.
BACKGROUND
~ Since Dufferin proposes to "fix" the destruction of existing Escarpment lands by adding new lands to the Escarpment plan area nearby, this action would turn Escarpment plan boundaries into a floating reserve to accommodate quarrying and therefore set a bad precedent for future protection of the integrity of the Escarpment's natural corridor;
In addition, the P.O.W.E.R.-CONE application argues that the Board's decision is inconsistent with international and federal law because the decision fails to ensure protection of the Jefferson Salamander, identified as a threatened species under the federal Species at Risk Act. This law was enacted to ensure that Canada 's commitments under the international Convention on Biological Diversity, to which Canada is a signatory, are met. The groups argue that the Board's decision runs contrary to provincial law - the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act, the Aggregate Resources Act and likely the Planning Act.
CONE and P.O.W.E.R. also argue that the Board's decision is contrary to the facts and evidence heard at the hearing on a wide range of issues, including water resources, stability of the "rock pillars" between sections of the expanded quarry, ecological integrity, land use planning policies and financial assurances for perpetual operation of engineering works to protect the natural water system in the area. Time and again, the appeal to Cabinet indicates important issues that were neither addressed nor resolved by the Joint Board in its reasons for its decision.
~ It authorizes major engineering works that must operate forever, to protect the water resources (wetlands, creeks, groundwater tables) of the area an approach that is inconsistent with increased public concern for drinking water sources, especially in as ecologically sensitive an area as the Niagara Escarpment.
~ It promotes the use of virgin (new) aggregates from the Escarpment rather than recycled aggregates from other sources:
~ It allows Dufferin's proposals for future land uses after final rehabilitation of the mined-out quarries (the creation of artificial lakes and a reservoir) to justify major disruption to the Escarpment for foreseeable decades to come;
~ It allows short-term economic gain (10-12 years of quarrying) to trump concern for long-term environmental harm to the Escarpment;
P.O.W.E.R believes that the decision runs contrary to the public interest and public policy because:
The Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment (CONE) and Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources (P.O.W.E.R.) have appealed to Cabinet the decision of the Consolidated Hearings Board (Joint Board) to approve an 83-hectare expansion to the 468-hectare Milton Quarry of Dufferin Aggregates. The Milton site is already the largest active quarry in Canada and is located within the Niagara Escarpment Plan Area, a part of the new Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt
We want to thank all who wrote letters, signed postcards,made phone calls and donated money for the environment to be represented at the Joint Board hearing. We fought the good fight but sadly, it was not enough. The Escarpment obviously needs more protection than the current system provides.
P.O.W.E.R. still believes that this will set a negativevprecedent for the whole Escarpment as it bisects the wildlife corridor and puts other wetlands in Ontario at risk through the precedent of engineered solutions established here. We must now work to assure that the attached conditions are enforced. We are told that land has been purchased by numbered companies in the vicinity of the Acton Quarry and Highway #25. We expect that the Acton Quarry will be applying for a new license to expand in the near future.
As the major media reported, the Liberals at Queen’s Park denied P.O.W.E.R.’s and CONE’s appeal and approved the new license for the Dufferin Quarry at Milton.
New Groups Dedicated to Protecting the Escarpment http://www.pitsense.ca/links.html
Page Last Verified: February 2012