Lafarge Canada Inc. - Changes to the site plan for a pit or quarry

Description of instrument

Lafarge Canada Inc. operates a Class A pit (Oro Pit – ARA licence #3553) with extraction occurring above the water table on a 165.64 hectare ARA licence. The pit is located approximately 15 km southwest of the City of Orillia. The licensee has applied for the following amendments to the site plan

1. a variance to Provincial Standard 5.1 which requires a 1.2 m fence around the perimeter of the licence. Local residents have asked that Lafarge retain as much of the tree screen on the boundary abutting the 6th Concession as possible. Lafarge proposes to offset the fence 15 m into the property and away from the licence boundary. They will then construct the fence at the road-facing toe of the acoustical berm, which will allow them to retain the trees
2. a variance to an operational note on the site plan regarding berm construction. A Hydro One power line currently runs across the property, constituting a hazard to workers constructing the berm. Lafarge proposes to offset the south berm adjacent to a Lafarge-owned property so as not to run directly underneath the line. They also propose to leave a gap in the berm on the 6th and 7th Concession where the line crosses onto Lafarge property
3. reduction of setbacks along the south side of stage 1 and the north east edge of stage 2 to 0 m. Lafarge owns the adjacent property which abuts this setback
4. a variance to Provincial Standard 5.1 to remove fencing along common internal boundaries described in (3) above
5. a variance for berm construction that would remove the requirement for berms along the internal boundaries described in (3) above, with the exception of the berm required to screen the operation from the house on the Lafarge-owned Norman property (south of stage 1) adjacent to the pit
6. Lafarge proposes to change the height of the berm screening the Norman property. The site plan currently shows a berm 11 m high tapering to 3.7 m high as it approaches the 7^th Concession. The new berm would be a uniform height of 6 m
7. a variance to Provincial Standard 5.13.2. Lafarge proposes to stockpile aggregate within 90 m of the boundary abutting the Norman property
8. a variance to Provincial Standard 5.16 regarding topsoil movement. Lafarge proposes to amend the site plan to allow topsoil to move between the sites to facilitate rehabilitation
9. Lafarge proposes to change the direction of the phasing as shown on the site plan based on a review of the quality of the material on site. They propose to do the following 
   1. a change in the size and direction of Stage 1 of the Oro Pit from north-bound and east-bound, to west-  bound and south-bound to consistently keep an open extraction face to screen the operation from the neighbouring properties on the 6th Concession
   2. addition of another phase (stage 1b) that could be concurrently extracted with all the other phases on the Oro Pit. Stage 1b will be located in the east half of existing stage 4. The stage 1b area has lower quality material. Lafarge’s geologist suggested that the best way to utilize this reserve would be to blend it in with the other phases in the Oro Pit to provide a useable product and maximize the resource
   3. a change in phasing direction in stage 2 of the Oro Pit from south-bound to west-bound to allow for the integration of the Roehner and Oro reserves and keep an open extraction face between the operation and the neighbours on 6th ConcessionLafarge proposes to create an internal haul route between the Oro and Roehner pits across the Norman property to facilitate movement of material and equipment between sites. Lafarge is requesting that at a new entrance/exit to the site be reflected on the plan. 
10. relocate the entrance/exit to the Oro pit south along the 7th Concession so that it is directly across the road from the entrance/exit to of a neighbouring aggregate operation, the Sarjeant Company Pit 3 (ARA #12000). Lafarge has applied for an Entrance Permit for the new entrance/exit from the Township of Oro-Medonte
11. reduce the setback to 0 m and amend the rehabilitation plan along the boundary which abuts ARA licence #104615 (Sarjeant – Squire Pit). It is proposed that the rehabilitation plan will be amended to show a common floor elevation with the adjacent operation. The changes to the common boundary are currently reflected on the site plan for ARA licence #104615

Other information

Site plan information is available from the MNR Midhurst District Office at 2284 Nursery Road, Midhurst, ON. Making an appointment to view the information is recommended to ensure availability of aggregate staff to provide information and answer questions.

Additionally, information related to this proposal is available from the following municipal offices

County of Simcoe
Administration Centre
1110 Highway 26
Midhurst, ON
L0L 1X0

Township of Oro-Medonte
Administration Centre
148 Line 7
Oro-Medonte, ON
L0L 2E0

Other public consultation opportunities

The application for this proposal is being circulated within the MNR Midhurst District office. Additionally, notification of this application has been forwarded to the Township of Oro-Medonte and the County of Simcoe, and the Public Liaison Committee for this site.