We are the residents in…

We are the residents in Milton - Campbellville Ontario, opposing the application for a license to operate a quarry at an old gravel pit within Campbellville.
The site in question rests on top of the aquifer that provides water to over 1,000 residents in Campbellville and over 20,000 residents in Milton who get their drinking water from either their own wells or the Kelso wells that supply urban Milton. This quarry is known as the Reid Sideroad Quarry by the applicant has many issues identified by in our letter of objection to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Environment.

You have highlight in your Provincial Policy Statement the following three areas of responsibility by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing:

1. protecting the environment and resources including farmland, natural resources (e.g., wetlands and woodlands) and water

The site where a license for a quarry application has been made encroaches on farmland, wetlands and sits on top of the aquifer that provides water to almost 30,000 people.

The operator has provided the ministry with research that does not meet the highest standard of investigation and scrutiny from experts.

The application lacks depth and concern for the impact on the environment.

2. ensuring the appropriate transportation, water, sewer and other infrastructure is available to accommodate current and future needs
We would also like to point out that should something happen to our water supply and or quality the cost of bringing water from Lake Ontario will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Not to mention impossible for rural residents. For which we also need to point out that there aren’t just three or four homes near the proposed site, but a few hundred homes, that could potentially lose their water.

3. protecting people, property and community resources by directing development away from natural or human-made hazards – such as flood prone areas

We are glad to hear that the protecting people and property is important to your ministry. The applicant in this case has not provided any research to demonstrate that there is no risk of harm to the public. The environmental and social impacts are significant.

As a community we believe that the Ministry and for that matter the Provincial government should never allow a quarry to be developed within the vicinity of Hospital that helps those needing medical attention or near schools where children need to be protected from the external elements. Nor would a rational person allow a quarry to blast near a retirement home. And yet there is an actual application being considered by the Ministry of Natural Resources provided by an applicant James Dick Construction Ltd to operate a quarry which is very close to the homes where people are healing from illnesses, where children and seniors live. In addition the community trusts of local, regional and provincial leaders to ensure that they are not put in danger and their water and air is protected.

As a community of residents who are seeking protection from all risks of harm, we are asking the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to raise the bar in protecting communities and residents from unnecessary profit ventures. It is the responsibility of all Government Agencies to demonstrate their Duty to Care with thoroughness and ensure that there are no unnecessary tragedies with applications such as this. This is especially true of this application as it will not interfere with the current government’s goals. This applicant only seeks to ensure their market share can grow and it has nothing to do with the Provincial Policy Statement.

We also don’t believe that your provincial policy statement is designed to destroy one growing community to grow others. That would be a contradiction to the Duty to Care as a government agency.

As residents should something happen to our source of water, there is no means to provide continuous water to all the homeowners. If the wells serving residents in urban and rural Milton lose their ability to serve because of volume or contamination, it will cost local, regional and the provincial government hundreds of Millions of dollars to bring water to residents. The applicant has no solutions save for trucking in water if we can prove that they are the cause. All of this is unacceptable, and we are sure it goes against every accountability your ministry has to serve the public.

If our local environment changes due to a quarry operation, impacting our health and social well-being the Provincial Policy Statement does not protect people…..it supports a single operator whose only interest is market share as they want to exploit the widening of highway 401. There objectives are not aligned with your Provincial Policy Statement nor the voters and ratepayers in Milton.