Ontarios quarry conundrum

A whole lot needs to change, ARA review committee told

By Bill Tremblay Jun 27, 2012 - 9:46 PM

Ontarios thirst for aggregate must no longer trump the need to maintain agricultural land, heard the committee charged with reviewing the provinces Aggregate Resources Act (ARA). During an afternoon long public hearing in Orangeville on Wednesday (June 27), the Standing Committee on General Government was repeatedly urged to recommend sweeping changes to the provinces handling of aggregate mining matters. There are plenty of opportunities to mine aggregate without destroying farmland, Ron Lehman informed the all-party committee of MPPs. Stay away from farmland. No quarries, period, he said. There is lots of rock elsewhere, this farmland is unique. Carl Cosack, chair of the North Dufferin Agricultural Community Task Force (NDACT), requested numerous alterations to the ARA, stating, The aggregate industry can no longer be prioritized at the cost of every other industry. His first request was that the committee seek a moratorium on all aggregate applications until the review is complete and new policy is enacted. We currently have enough licensed resources at hand to satisfy the market, Cosack said. He also suggested a tiered licensing program based on quarry location and depth and that expansions of existing quarries require a new application. Below the water table should automatically be designated for a provincial EA (Environmental Assessment), Cosack added. Areas that provide sources of water should also be protected by legislation, according to Cosack. You have the ability to protect Ontarios source water regions, he said.

Bob Wells, who lives near the Highland Companies proposed quarry site in Melancthon, said the fees aggregate companies pay in levies should be based on the total social cost of operating the quarry. The cost of quarry rehabilitation, road maintenance, loss of farmland and pollution should be combined to determine the amount paid to the public purse by aggregate companies, according to Wells. I suggest that the minister should calculate total costs to the people of Ontario for large risky, below water table, aggregate extraction projects, Wells said. He added if the social cost of the quarry is unacceptably high, the company should be denied an aggregate license. This would encourage greater supply of aggregate from distant suppliers and therefor reduce demand for aggregates from near market, more populated areas and farmland, Wells told the committee. Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones, who sits on the committee, said an increased levy is a popular suggestion. Dont be afraid of a really large increase, Wells said. Margaret Mercer asked the committee to include more time to respond to applications for residents who live nearby a proposed pit. Give the applicants the smaller window, Mercer said. Brent Preston, an organic farmer who lives about 10 km north of Highlands proposed quarry site told the committee changing the ARA to favour farmland over aggregate would help strengthen Ontarios economy. Preston explained he could sell the salad he grows for about $18,000 per tonne, while aggregate yields about $8 per tonne. He added the agricultural industry contributes about $33 billion to Ontarios economy, while aggregate contributes $1.6 billion. Why would we allow the aggregate industry to run roughshod over an agricultural sector that is more than 20 times more important to our economy?

Preston asked. He added the salad he grows is a renewable contributor. I only produce eight or 10 tonnes of salad a year on my farm, but I can produce salad in perpetuity, Preston said. You can only mine a tonne of gravel once. Committee member Rosario Marchese, an NDP MPP, said aggregate companies have told the committee that moving away from farmland would equal an increase in the price of their product. Id rather have unaffordable gravel than unaffordable food, Preston replied. Green Party leader Mike Schreiner urged the committee to promote recycling used aggregate. Ontario currently recycles seven per cent of its aggregate while the United Kingdom is able to recycle 21 per cent. Caledon is able to recycle between 25 and 40 per cent of aggregate used by the municipality. I believe it is essential to change the focus we currently have on prioritizing consumptions of supply of aggregates to encouraging efficiency, conservation and recycling, Schreiner said. Aggregates are a valuable finite resource. Marchese agreed recycling must be encouraged. I think its disgusting. We need to do more, Marchese said. Greg Sweetnam, vice president of resources for James Dick Concrete, suggested approval authority be transferred from regional Ministry of Natural Resource managers to district managers. Right now all the minor items, like moving a fence six feet, is sent to Peterborough, Sweetnam said. They are too far away and out of the loop. It slows everything down. He also suggested the half-cent per tonne aggregate companies pay for rehabilitation is increased to three cents. If we made that change, we could take the abandoned pits, the pre-1971 pits, and gets those completely rehabilitated within our generation, Sweetnam said. I

think the industry would support that. He also argued aggregate must be mined close to its market to limit greenhouse gas emissions and reduce aggregate costs. The only thing worse than being inefficient is being inefficient over and over, Sweetnam said. Farmer David Vander Zaag, who hosted Foodstock last fall, told the committee the farmland in Melancthon is irreplaceable. Its the best in the world without exaggeration, Vander Zaag said. During his testimony, Vander Zaag invited the committee to visit Melancthon. Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell told The Banner the committee would tour the town following the meeting. You owe it to yourself to see it first hand, Vander Zaag said. You owe it to Ontarians. The committee's Orangeville stop is one of five public hearings scheduled throughout the province to gather opinion and input on the ARA.