1) Our household is…

1) Our household is completely against the R.W Tomlinson pit, or ANY other pit for the removal of aggregate. The promise that it will not affect residents around the area IS NOT ENOUGH. There is already one (no longer active) in the area, and the tiny township does not need more holes to disrupt the:

a) BIODIVERSITY: turtles, beavers, herons, frogs, tadpoles, deer, coyotes, wild turkeys, hummingbirds and multitude of birds, bears, pollinators and endless other wildlife that self sustains. Residents have seen all of these on their properties, and in the exact area where the pit is expected. There is a turtle crossing sign right in the area. The birds that lay in that exact field year after year.

Other major concerns are:
b) WATER CONTAMINATION: the wells and drinking water of the residential homes
c) the cracking of foundations of homes in the area
d) the air quality (and health of residents). This area is mostly elderly and young!! These are the MOST AFFECTED from the poor air quality, leaving them susceptible to many diseases
e) the dust on all the agriculture
f) the negative effect on farmers crops and residential gardens, agriculture
g) ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES: water levels have already threatened residents in the area; this will rapidly increase those water levels and also affect the levels of Ottawa River, the marsh, streams and ponds in the area

In addition, Renfrew County has several ENDANGERED SPECIES that all hold habitat in Horton Township and in the area where the new pit is expected: Barn Owls, the bobolink, eastern meadowlark

I apologize for the structure of this “comment” as we have been trying to navigate “how to” leave one for a month now….and just in the last day, the site finally allows to “submit a comment”….when this is due at midnight.
Please see the following sites/articles for references of this comment.

Air Quality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7504702/

And

https://gravelwatch.org/air-quality-health/

Living near a gravel pit:
https://www.countynewsonline.ca/opinion-living-near-a-gravel-pit-2/

Threat to our waters:
https://apihtawikosisan.com/2016/02/gravel-pits-a-threat-to-our-waters-…

Environmental Impacts:
https://www.torontoenvironment.org/gravel/impacts