Conditions must be met for Duntroon quarry to proceed

By Michael Gennings Barrie Advance Jun 29, 2012 

CLEARVIEW TOWNSHIP – Walker Industries vice-president Ken Lucyshyn says that a lot of work needs to happen before the company can move forward with its expansion of the Duntroon Quarry in Clearview Township.

On Monday, June 18, the Consolidated Hearings Board ruled the expansion is permitted but attached a variety of conditions that must be met before any aggregate can be taken from the ground.

Lucyshyn said several conditions must be worked into the adaptive management plan (AMP) that is a part of the quarry project. In simple terms, the plan outlines what steps are being taken to protect the natural heritage of the area from any negative impacts.

Some of the conditions include a monitoring program for the Hart’s Tongue Fern that’s found on the property as the plant species is considered a species of special concern.

Another condition requires a monitoring program for certain springs coming from the escarpment.

Lucyshyn said he hopes to have all of the conditions associated with the AMP met within four months from now.

He said when that happens the plan will be submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources for approval. He says assuming the ministry is satisfied it will notify the Consolidated Hearings Board that the conditions have been met.

The province would then be asked to grant the company an extraction license.

“I’m going to be optimistic and say I’d like to think we could have the license…by the end of the year,” Lucyshyn said.

The board has also attached a condition that all of the road upgrades outlined as part of the project must be completed before extraction can start.

“We are going to be working diligently on that,” Lucyshyn said.

Prior to the hearing, Walker Industries reached an agreement with Clearview Township and Simcoe County regarding upgrades to local roads near the quarry.

The county agreed to download a section of County Road 91 – between Duntroon and Grey Road 31 – to the township. A section of the road, between Nottawasaga Concession 10 and the east boundary of the quarry, will be converted to a restricted access road and a portion of the road, adjacent to the quarry, sold to Walker for use as an entrance to the quarry.

In downloading the road, the county agreed to pay Clearview $2-million to use towards improvements to County Road 91. Clearview agreed to pony up $1-million for improvements to Nottawasaga Concession 10, from County Road 91 to 30/31 Sideroad. As well, it was agreed Sideroad 26/27 would be improved to a year-round open gravel road for local traffic.

Walker has agreed to pay up to $7.5-million for the closed portion of the county road, with the money going towards the road upgrades in the area.

Because the design work for these upgrades still needs to take place, Lucyshyn said the construction phase won’t start until probably next year.

Lucyshyn said he’s really pleased to see the board ruled in the company’s favour and that the project can move forward. He said it means a secure future for employees.

The quarry, located on the south side County Road 91, just west of Duntroon, is running out of aggregate. The expansion involves mining on the north side of the county road.

The property on the north side of the county road is comprised of 149 hectares with a proposal that the company get an extraction license for 70 hectares with the plan to actually extract aggregate from about 60 hectares.

Walker plans to remove about 38.5-million tonnes of aggregate from the site.

Depending on demand, the quarry will operate for about 30 years.