I am writing to express my…

I am writing to express my concerns to the proposed changes to the aggregate Resources Act ( ARA )
I am also writing to express my concerns with the proposed amendment to the ARA in Bill 132
My main concerns center around the changes that will limit the power of a municipality to determine the depth of aggregate extraction below the water table.
An excellent example of why this is dangerous to the protection of the quantity and quality of a municipal water supply is the Dolime Quarry located within 2 km of 8 production wells in the city of Guelph.
The city of Guelph has been in mediation with the quarry owners since it was granted Leave to Appeal from the ERT on May 2nd 2014 (Case No 13-013)
However in 2008 the Ontario Geological Society (OGS) discovered that excavation at the quarry breached the Aquitard Vinemount layer protecting our aquifer making it more vunerable to contamination.
Pumping for dewatering of the quarry averages around 11million litres of potential water supply being pumped as waste into the Speed River and limits the amount of supply available at our municipal wells .
The city and the quarry owners have announced a proposal recently to end the dispute after reports of legal expenses of $1.7 each .However the proposal does not obligate the quarry owners to repair the damage to the aquitard in their remediation obligations under their licence .
Excavation legally at the licence limit did not protect he City of Guelph water supply and the quarrying to this limit has made mitigation difficult if not impossible .This will require complex and expensive pumping for the foreseeable future to prevent a GUDI situation .
This example should be reason to have municipalities have the final decision on how deep excavation
can occur and decisions must be made based on science of the local geology.
The Dolime quarry should have been subject to more extensive borehole testing and the licence based on the results.
We now have much better knowledge of the geology and hydrogeology and methods to determine safe limits of excavation.The University of Guelph is a leader in research in Ontario and should be consulted on any proposed changes to the ARA.
Thanks