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BRAESIDE—Plans for asphalt and concrete batching plants and increased water use at Braeside Quarry continue to stir up bad reactions from neighbours worried about pollution as well as declining property values.
Residents will be updated on details of the proposed expansion of the quarry’s licenced excavation area—and encouraged to register objections to McNab/Braeside council before April 28—during a meeting tonight at 7 p.m., at Nick Smith Centre on James St. in nearby Arnprior.
After some ratepayers discovered possible quarry expansion had been noted in the official plan introduced March 28, a group calling itself FACT-MB (Friends Acting Concerned Together – McNab/Braeside) came together to investigate.
“We’re trying to keep our quality of life at the level we’ve become accustomed to,” said spokesman Brad McIlquham. “Our intention is to keep our families safe from environmental disasters.”
Norma Moore, another FACT-MB member who has resided next to the quarry for 33 years, said a multi-million litre water-taking permit obtained from the Ministry of Environment by quarry owner Miller Paving Ltd. could have devastating impact on the water table and nearby Ottawa River should there be a concrete or asphalt spill.
“We have virtually no sand, soil or clay cover here to filter what enters the aquifer,” Moore said. “Any contaminants would seep directly through fissures in the bedrock.”
Moore said she’s been able to tolerate limited blasting and equipment noise, dust and odour emanating from the quarry in its current configuration. But expansion from 74 to 250 acres as proposed would destroy her garden design business.
McIlquham noted extra water to be drawn by Miller will come from the same underground source which more than 1,000 residents rely upon to supply their wells.
While McNab/Braeside council has been briefed on the quarry’s plans, applications for zoning amendments have yet to be received, said township CAO Noreen Mellema.
In a letter to council, Miller consultant Gary Bell specified that, despite any expansion of the excavation area which may be approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources, maximum annual amount of aggregate removed will remain at the current 1 million tonnes.
Bell said an investigation will establish a blasting plan for safe excavation without interfering with the water table. He promised a public meeting will be called once the company has completed its homework and welcomed public comment throughout the process.
Residents coming up against quarry expansions aren’t uncommon in the rural reaches of Eastern Ontario and the outcomes aren’t always happy for protesting residents.
A group known as Quarries Are The Pits spent most of a decade opposing plans by Cornwall Gravel Co. to rezone a site near Dunvegan from agricultural to mineral aggregate.
The dispute went all the way to the Ontario Municipal Board which ruled last year in the company’s favour.
While QATP leader James Joyce wished FACT-MB well and urged the group to “fight the fight because every battle counts,” he suggested it’ll be frustrating because there’ll likely be little support forthcoming from politicians or government.
“The provincial government pays lip service to source water protection but when the rubber hits the road, it doesn’t step up to the plate,” he said.
With limited resources, QATP continues to monitor activity at the Cornwall Gravel site. So far, there has been no apparent expansion of the operation, Joyce said.
He suggested the most important thing for FACT-MB to do is bring in a lawyer early on, adding that his group’s losing campaign cost about $60,000 in donated funds.