The creation of construction…

The creation of construction storage yards and equipment buildings for industrial purposes, including the processing of asphalt and cement waste, would appear to represent a new and previously unapproved revenue stream for the license holder. The conversion of pits and quarries to permanent industrial sites associated with “recycled aggregate” is problematic for a number of reasons. Such action would at the very least violate the intent of the original site plan which was for interim use and thus a covenant with the nearby neighbours and the local community. In additions, because the nature of aggregate removed from demolished structures is very different from virgin aggregate, such a new permanent use would represent a permanent risk. Similarly, should the imported material be soils from other areas, the nature of these imported soils would in all likelihood be very different from the virgin aggregate that was removed during the extraction process and this new permanent use would also represent a permanent risk. Storing and processing of waste aggregate for recycling creates a high risk for the release of heavy metals and concentrated contaminants contained in waste products such as fly ash, oil products, fiber content, spills, paint and coatings, and biological content, to mention only a few. Such activities should not occur in open air, nor in proximity to ground or surface water. To contemplate allowing such activities short term is dangerous; to approve such activities for the long term would have a significant negative health impact on both humans and the local wildlife through the contamination of the air, and ground and surface water.