Andrew MacDonald Natural…

Andrew MacDonald

Natural Resources Conservation Policy Branch

300 Water Street Peterborough, Ontario K9J 8M5

Re: ERO Posting #019-0556

Proposed Amendments to the Aggregate Resources Act and/or Regulations

Dear Mr. MacDonald:

The following is respectfully submitted to the Province as input from The Corporation of the Municipality of Shuniah to ERO Posting #019-0556.

Shuniah Council is very concerned that the Province is removing the municipal voice from aggregate development/expansion with respect to haul routes. Small, northern, rural municipalities have “infrastructure gaps” as recognized by the Provincial and Federal governments. Our largest infrastructure asset is made up of our road network. Many northern, rural municipalities like Shuniah inherited old logging and mining roads which were never originally constructed to a municipal standard. The damage to these roads that is caused by heavy industrial trucking, such as aggregates hauling, can be considerable.

Expressly stating in the legislation that neither the Minister nor the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal may even consider damage to municipal roads exposes municipalities unfairly to significant costs (regarding both road maintenance/repair and potential liability for damage caused to members of the general public using the damaged roads). Unless the royalties paid on aggregates which are passed on to municipalities are significantly increased, which is not proposed, municipalities will suffer financial losses with no hope of recovery.

Another local concern is that aggregate resource hauling creates noise and dust for residents living along haul routes. Where an alternate route exists that would create less nuisance for rural residents, it needs to be considered. Shuniah Council takes some comfort in the fact that paragraph 12(1)(h) remains intact (i.e. that considerations still include “the main haulage routes and proposed truck traffic to and from the site”) such that residents’ concerns (if not the Municipality’s) about haulage routes will continue to be considered.

Proposed Section 13.1 will allow applications to allow extraction below the water table. Shuniah Council has concerns, however, the Municipality lacks the expertise to address these concerns scientifically. Council takes some comfort in the fact that paragraph 12(1)(e) remains intact (i.e. that considerations still include “any possible effects on ground and surface water resources including on drinking water sources”). Drinking water in Shuniah is solely provided through individually owned wells. Council trusts that any applications for extraction below the water table will be scrutinized for potential drinking water impacts – whether to quality or quantity of potable water.

Shuniah strongly objects to municipal zoning not applying to aggregate extraction on Crown land within the Municipality. It simply does not make sense to have two aggregate pits within the one municipality with two different sets of rules. Council needs to have consistency in planning for aggregate operations and residents need to know they can trust good planning throughout the entire municipality.

Shuniah is also a member of the Lakehead Rural Municipal Coalition. The LRMC publishes a “rural action plan” twice annually, and provides it to Provincial MPPs in January (prior to the ROMA conference) and in August (prior to the AMO conference). In the January, 2019 version of the Rural Action Plan, the LRMC stated the following, with which Shuniah Council agrees:

The Aggregates Resources Act (R.S.O. 1990, c. A.8, as amended) governs the operations of pits and quarries in the regulated portions of the Province. Its geographic application was recently amended to include some territories in the Thunder Bay District without municipal organization. Other amendments included adjustments to royalty fee payments and their distribution.

Municipalities, particularly small rural municipalities, are faced with ever-increasing uncontrollable costs (such as mandatory payments to government agencies over whose budgets there is no municipal control), as well as ever-dwindling sources of revenue. In this climate, it is respectfully suggested that Municipal holders of aggregate permits or licenses should be exempt from royalty fees where the pits exist within their own municipal boundaries. Royalty fees are intended to compensate the municipality for road damage. The municipality should not have to pay these fees out, only to receive a portion of them back again. A waiver of the royalties would be an excellent demonstration of understanding of the partnership that needs to exist between municipalities and the Province. This is of even more importance now, given the recent rate increase.

Shuniah Council thanks the Ministry for the opportunity to provide input to this very important topic.

Sincerely,

Paul Greenwood, CAO/Deputy Clerk