Sunday, May 8, 2011

ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT WEBSITE ABOUT QUARRIES

http://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEB-External/displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTEzMTQ3&statusId=MTY5NjAy&language=en

The site is called Goodquarry and it is out of England.

It talks about things like rehabilitation.  You know, how Highlands is going to rehabilitate the land for farming?  Well this site talks about what happens when soil is stored.  (Something NOT address in the 3,000 pages of clap trap provided by Highlands as their aggregate application).

What happens when you store soil?

"Chemical changes occur in soil as microbial populations die, especially if the stored soil is compacted and anaerobic. This may lead to the build up of toxic substances. Soils stored in heaps less than 1.5m high suffer minimal damage for up to a year; after that the structure and chemical composition gradually deteriorates. "

What about the impact of blasting on livestock?  (Something else Highlands didn't address in their application)

"There is some suggestion that livestock may be affected by noise/vibration."

When you view the site in detail, it is clear it is funded by the aggregate industry, although there are very telling facts on the site, that even the industry couldn't hide. 

And also, remember,  this is modelled on legislation and regulations in England so the health & safety standards and noise standards may be different. 

Things that are universal are dust issues, water issues, etc.  Sort of something like this statement: 

"Dust may have physical effects on plants such as blockage and damage to stomata, shading, abrasion of leaf surface or cuticle, and cumulative effects e.g. drought stress on already stressed species. The chemical effects of dust, either directly on the plant surface or on the soil, are likely to be more important than any physical effects. Dust deposited on the ground may produce changes in soil chemistry, which may in the longer-term result in changes in plant chemistry, species competition and community structure."

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous09 May, 2011

    Hope Melancthon Council is reading how "bad" the "good quarry" is.

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  2. Anonymous09 May, 2011

    Naw, Council won't read it, they know everything. They knew NOT to pass a demolition control bylaw, or a tree bylaw, or a fees and charges bylaw under the planning act for aggregate proposals and how NOT to fire a "planner" who has been "working on" an official plan update for like 30 years and still isn't in conformity, and how NOT to file an OPA for specialty crop or an OPA to strengthen their aggregate policies.

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  3. Anonymous10 May, 2011

    I believe the planner cannt finish the official plan because council keeps telling him to do things which are against Provincal Policies, and in the intern keeps getting the OP sent back by The ministry of municapal affairs....as did the specialty crop proposal, and as will the other OPA put forth by CAUSE. Pretty hard to finish something when the council keeps telling you to do something that is against the rules....

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