Letter to the Editor, Clearview Echo Friday June 24, 2011
Alarm bells are going off – this aggregates issue is bigger than I expected. Within 20 minutes of Creemore we have three proposed quarries and one proposed gravel pit:
- Duntroon, MAQ Aggregates Inc.
- Duntroon, Walker Aggregates Inc.
- Mansfield, Arbour Farms/Airport Road (sand and gravel pit)
- Melancthon, 3191574 Nova Scotia Company (aka The Highland Companies)
These proposed projects all plan to extract below the water table. Combined, they will have an effect on seven rivers (Batteau, Beaver, Grand, Nottawasaga, Pine, Pretty, Saugeen).
These four proposed operations are spread across three counties and four municipalities. It doesn’t appear that any government organization is taking “the big picture” into account.
Also, as of July 2009, seven aggregates companies owned land in Melancthon (west of Honeywood/north of Shelburne). If Highland’s mega-quarry replaces Honeywood Loam soil farmland, consider a precedent set.
What will be the cumulative affects of all these quarries? How much traffic, blasting, dust, noise and air pollution will surround the Creemore valley? What about water quality?
Now is the time to pay attention.
Donna Baylis
Dunedin
Hear hear!!
No comments:
Post a Comment