Community fights mega quarry

May 9, 2011

Today we have a special guest post from Donna Tranquada, an award-winning

broadcast journalist. As Eco Logic readers know, local issues are the most
important issues, and everywhere is local to one of us.
Maybe we can help each other out by raising our voices for important local
issues wherever they arise across our beautiful country. Here is Donna’s story
about a mega quarry that threatens an area dear to her, the Hills of the
Headwaters, and how you can help.

The sun shone brightly over our small farm in Dufferin County yesterday as I
worked in my garden, weeded the vegetable patch and watched tractors plow the
dark earth in nearby fields. It was one of those perfect spring days in the
country. Our little “homestead” is perched on the top of a hill about 90 minutes
northwest of Toronto. We’re surrounded by rolling pastures, gabled farmhouses
and grey-weathered barns that have survived a century of seasons. It’s one of
the most stunning regions of Ontario and is known as “The Hills of
Headwaters.” But looming over the landscape is the threat of a mega
quarry that will destroy vital farmland, jeopardize fresh water and devastate
our environment.

As you drive westward from our farm, the land rises to a vast and fertile plateau
in Melancthon township, north of Shelburne. It’s the highest point of land in
southern Ontario and contains the best grade of soil in the province:
Honeywood silt loam. Farmers love it. Not only is it fertile and rock-free, it sits
upon a massive limestone aquifer, which offers a perfect drainage system for
growing potatoes and other crops. Fifty per cent of the potatoes consumed in the
Greater Toronto Area are grown on this plateau.

The region is also the source of water for four watersheds, including the Grand
and Nottawasaga rivers. It’s estimated one-million people downstream rely
on the fresh water. Local wells, ponds and streams count on the headwaters for
replenishment.

Agriculture or Aggregate

Enter the Highland Companies. Over the past few years, Highland, which is
backed by a $22-billion Boston hedge fund, has purchased about 7,000 acres of
the 15,000-acre plateau. At first, Highland said its focus was growing
potatoes and, after assembling so much land, it’s now the largest potato
producer in Ontario.

But, in March, Highland confirmed suspicions that it was far more

interested in the limestone beneath the fields. Highland filed a 3,000-page
application to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to tear up the fields and
excavate the largest open pit quarry in Canada for the lucrative aggregate
market. The proposed size is staggering. The mega quarry would span 2,300
acres. It would be deeper than Niagara Falls and plunge 200 feet below the
water table.

Forever is a long time

In order to keep the quarry from filling up with water and draining the watersheds,
Highland says it will have to pump 600-million-litres of water a day, 24 hours a
day. Forever. That’s the same amount of water used by 2.7
million Ontarians each day.

At a recent public meeting hosted by Highland, I expressed doubts about a

pumping system running in perpetuity. The hired water-management consultant
replied “We have the technology.” Well, the Japanese thought they had the
technology to protect their nuclear reactors from earthquakes. The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers was equally confident about its levees around New Orleans.
Pumps fail, and when that happens, the results will be catastrophic for those
downstream.

Not Welcome in the Neighbourhood

The mega quarry would also be a troublesome neighbour for the Niagara
Escarpment, which runs through the Hills of Headwaters and is recognized by
UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve. The Florida Everglades and
Galapagos Islands share the same designation. The Niagara Escarpment
Commission says it is “one of the world’s unique natural wonders.” The
Escarpment also supports “300 bird species, 53 mammals, 36 reptiles and
amphibians, 90 fish and 100 varieties of special interest flora including 37 types
of wild orchids.” Yet, the largest quarry in the country would stretch alongside
this environmentally-sensitive area. No government would ever allow a quarry of
any size near the Florida Everglades or in the Galapagos Islands.

Deep Down on the Farm

Once Highland extracts the limestone it intends to farm the bottom of the pit.
That’s right, the bottom. The company claims it will spread topsoil in this deep,
massive scar and, if the pumps don’t fail, it will grow crops. But according to
current provincial legislation, Highland is under no obligation to
rehabilitate the quarry pit because it would be below the water table.

Help Stop the Mega Quarry

There’s so much more. Up to 300 heavy diesel trucks an hour would rumble to
and from the pit each day, polluting our air and clogging our roads. And,
incredibly, the largest proposed quarry in Canada is not subject to an
Environmental Assessment in Ontario. This is unacceptable.
The Hills of Headwaters is normally quiet and bucolic. But it’s now noisy with
opposition to the proposed mega quarry. What can you do to stop it? Write
letters of objection to the province of Ontario. Please demand an
Environmental Assessment. The deadline is July 11, 2011. Click here to learn
more. You can also e-mail Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty here.

And for further information about the mega quarry, visit www.ndact.com and
www.citizensalliance.ca, and join us on Facebook at Stop the Quarry for news
updates and events.