Friday, July 26, 2013
UPCOMING REVIEW OF THE AGGREGATE RESOURCES ACT
Yesterday's Elmira Independent carrys this story "ARA final report expected this fall". Our local M.P. Michael Harris was a member of the provincial committee which examined potential improvements to the act. There were public hearings with varying suggestions such as greater protection for farmland and greater financial support to municipalitites hosting gravel operations. Other issues included encouraging municipalities to make greater use of recycled aggregate to reduce the constant need for new aggregate as well as looking at alternate forms of transportaion for aggregate. This I assume would mean more rail and less truck traffic. The one glaring omission in yesterday's article and comments would be greater protection for nearby residents. Afterall that's what a lot of the Woolwich township protests are all about. Building gravel pits next door to homes, schools and urban areas is just plain way beyond stupid yet it goes on.
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Ontario's Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) is based on 40-year old values. The ARA allows pits/quarries to be dug anywhere including environmentally protected land; it bypasses the environmental assessment process; it does not require that proof of need of the aggregate be established; it requires that pits/quarries be dug "close to market" which undermines recycling efforts; it does not take farmland, source water or people's health protection into account. The ARA and its underlying policies must be updated. What worked in the 1970s does not necessarily work today. We need to be diligent and make sure that the ARA review takes today’s values and environmental standards into account. We need to recycle and preserve this finite product. We need to protect our prime farmland, food security, water resources and at-risk species. We may have to pay more money for aggregate but we will have to pay either way. The decisions we make today will have a tremendous impact on the lifestyles of future generations. Stay in touch with your MPP. Keep sending those cards and letters to the provincial Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of the Environment as well as the Premier. Stay informed. Don’t let others make these very crucial decisions for your children.
ReplyDeleteThe time has come to stop developing aggregate resources at the expense of all else.
blaw blaw blaw
DeleteGravel is only located in the ground at certain locations, these locations need to be protected and developed as pits or quarries. Ontario uses 190 millions tonnes a year. sending by rail from the north is not the answer. Township need to stop allowing severances around aggregate deposits....people dont like pits, people can move the aggregate resource cannt!
List of Recommended Changes to the ARA found at http://users.xplornet.com/~dbaylis/mega-quarry/Reference/Recommendations.pdf
ReplyDelete