Mega-quarry peer review: should anyone be surprised?

Significant deficiencies in Highland’s studies point to gaping flaw in province’s developer-driven process

From NDACT website AWARE News Network

Recently, a peer review study of the Melancthon mega-quarry was released. Commissioned by the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority in response to the application by The Highland Companies to blast a huge hole into the prime farmland of Melancthon Township, the report by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. would likely have remained unread, in a dead-file cabinet somewhere, if not for the efforts of someone (I know not who) in the NVCA.

With the application withdrawn by The Highland Companies, there would not seem to be any reason to release this report.  Some would say that there would little to gain.

The truth is, there are some huge reasons for the release and understanding by the public of this report. The report results, and the lessons to be learned, should be known by all those concerned about the stewardship of our farmland, and all those involved in the massive effort to stop this travesty.

The application, allowed through the Aggregate Resources Act, and following the guidelines within, was accompanied by voluminous reports commissioned by the proponent, and submitted to the MNR for review. That review process was suspended, I presume before its completion, when the proponent withdrew its application in November of 2012. We will likely never know what the conclusions, if any, of their review were. We should know.

I expect that the MNR review would be a disappointment to all of us who worked so hard to stop, what was clear to us, a bad idea. As we learned in the battle to save our farmland and our community, the MNR and the Ministry of the Environment (and by extension, the Provincial Government), are not so concerned about protecting the land, as they are in finding ways to accommodate the developers. They are in the business of parceling out the land to anyone who comes before them with an application, an application supported by documents bought and paid for by the developer. Such documents should be truly suspect, as how can there be impartiality, and any trust in reports designed and manipulated to support the proponent’s plans. This same framework still exists today.

During the battle to save Melancthon, Mulmur, and the surrounding area, the view of common sense, freely and loudly offered by locals, was often discredited, and discounted, and not treated seriously by many people in authority.

I mean, after all, what did we know in the face of the “scientific” studies conducted by  so-called “experts” writing in these application reports. None of us were in a creditable position to dispute the findings of the people trained in the various scientific disciplines. But we all knew that the quarry was just plain wrong and would not work. ( I remember a particular news reporter calling the effort to stop the quarry as “misguided”.) That did not stop us, though, as we continued to scream our outrage at what was proposed.

Now comes a report that essentially vindicates our efforts, and the end result of Highland’s retreat.

The technical review by SLR found many shortcomings in the proponent’s reports.

Here are a few conclusions of many taken from the review about the application reports:

“…there is insufficient investigation, understanding or quantification of the environment for accurate determination of potential impacts or risk to the environment…”

“…there is insufficient address of potential impacts to the environment in the event that the proposed perpetual groundwater recharge system fails or is abandoned.”

“Important data, analysis and cross discipline integration is lacking.”

“…the proponent’s consultants deem identification and address of potential impacts virtually unnecessary.”

The SLR report does not come out to say definitively that this quarry should not be allowed to happen, but it does shine the light on so many deficiencies in the application studies that one has to wonder, “What was Highland thinking they could pull over on us?”

What if Highland had not withdrawn their application? I shudder to think of what might have been.

Link to NVCA report

Dennis Sanford, Melancthon, ON

Published in the Orangeville Citizen, July 16, 2014

Media coverage

NDACT calls for united front on Food and Water First

July 24, 2014 By Marni Walsh Shelburne Free Press 

The North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Task Force (NDACT) held its annual general meeting for approximately 40 members on July 10th in Horning’s Mills. Carl Cosack Chair of the taskforce brought members up to date on NDACT activities from the past year, stressing the need for a continued, united front on the Food and Water First mandate to protect prime farmland and source water. Shirley Boxem, Vice Chair spoke to the members about the urgency in “keeping this issue at the forefront, as the legislative rules have not changed and the very same mega quarry application could be applied for today.”

In the past year, NDACT circulated over 30,000 Food and Water First cards to constituents at meetings, awareness sessions and partner organizations. Candidates in the recent provincial election were urged to take the food and water first pledge. Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party was the only party leader to endorse and support NDACT’s legacy movement.

The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) peer review of the Highland Companies’ 2400 acre open pit mining application was a major topic of discussion at the meeting. The NVCA review can be read in full at www.ndact.com. A quick glance gives a clear picture of how unprepared Highland Companies was to deal with any environmental issue arising from their plan. An excerpt from NVCA’s review:

“The Technical Review finds there is insufficient investigation, understanding or quantification of the environment for an accurate determination of potential impacts or risk to the environment to be accurately undertaken. Environmental impacts were primarily, if not entirely mitigated through the reliance of the groundwater recharge and water management system. The reports rely on confidence that mitigation will work and how it will replicate existing groundwater function and avoid changes to features if they are groundwater dependant. Based on this assumption, the proponent’s consultants deem identification and address of potential impacts virtually unnecessary. With regards to identification of risks to the environment, the Technical Review finds there is insufficient address of potential impacts to the environment in the event that the proposed perpetual groundwater recharge system fails or is abandoned. Potential impacts and their significance (extent, magnitude, duration) in the absence of mitigation are insufficiently explored or addressed and often absent.”

The NVCA saw a ream of flaws in Highland Companies’ application, the words “insufficient, lacking, challenged, absent, incomplete, omitted, not presented,” and so on, were repeated continuously throughout the review. They found more than 80% of dye tests to show water flow was never recovered. The Chair stated, “This review clearly tells every bureaucrat, proponent and grass roots organization that ‘consulting’ companies interpret their own data in ways to please the applicant with little regard for doing the right thing.”

The board members sworn in July 10th include Carl Cosack, Tom Long, Lyle Parson, Shirley Boxem, Ralph Armstrong, Ted Metz and Brian Bell. NDACT is seeking additional board members; any one interested can e-mail info@ndact.com with their area of expertise or interest.

The meeting closed with a challenge for everyone to pick up Food and Water First signs and put them on their lawns. Green party candidate and NDACT member Karren Wallace says:

“We waged a successful battle against the billion dollar hedge fund Baupost, but the war is not over…until legislative changes are made, every single letter we wrote, rally we attended, Foodstock and Soupstock we supported, will be for nothing. I do not want my kids and grandkids having to fight this same war. We are so close, let’s just finish this.   Right now NDACT is working with elected officials on all fronts to move the changes that are needed. The only thing that is going to put this front and centre in the politicians’ minds is critical mass. Let’s start getting those red and white signs up all over Ontario and the world again.”

Wallace has made a commitment to NDACT to place 100 signs in the next two weeks. To help Karren reach her goal, drive by 429 First Avenue East in Shelburne and grab a Food and Water First sign off the front lawn for free. (Anyone can pick up a sign free of charge, by e-mailing info@ndact.com as well).

NDACT Treasurer Tom Long gave a financial overview; noting that fundraising has been minimal for the year, but expenses, such as legal and accounting, awareness signs and promotions remain relatively the same. NDACT calls for residents to continue their yearly memberships and fight for Food and Water First to achieve the changes that will protect water and farmland for future generations.