The “hidden quarry” may be a stepping stone to more pits, according to the Concerned Residents Coalition (CRC).
At the March 2 Guelph-Eramosa council meeting, the gallery was packed with people sporting large round CRC pins, with standing room only at the beginning of the meeting.
CRC representatives Doug Tripp and Perry Groskopf explained the likelihood that the pits will not stop at just the hidden quarry. They think there will likely be multiple quarries in the future, even though James Dick Construction (JDCL) has applied for only one.
The rock that will be extracted from the site, on the north side of Highway 7 and 6th Line, is part of the Amabel Formation, Tripp explained.
“My understanding is that the total deposit in the Amabel Formation is something in the area of 350 to 360 million metric tonnes, compared to the 14 or so that the proponent intends to extract from the quarry site,” he said. “So I guess from very early on, many of us have felt that the quarry’s story wasn’t going to end with one quarry.”
The CRC identified two potential sites that could succumb to quarry development. One is the former Ball property, now owned by Markham Hills Farms Ltd., across the 6th Line from the proposed quarry and the 2101271 Ontario Inc. property north of the proposed quarry, both of which are on the Amabel Formation.
The CRC is concerned that a new road will be built to access Markham Hills Farms Ltd., and the quarry in the future, for easy access to one set of crushing equipment.
There is also concern that the public record shows 2101271 Ontario Inc. bought the northern property for $2 from Mulmur Aggregates Inc. in 2006, which could mean it was bought for potential quarry construction, Tripp and Groskopf said.
“My nutshell summary of all this is, as (of the CRC) Bill Hill has said before, it will not be one quarry, it will be multiple quarries,” Groskopf said.
At the conclusion of the report, Tripp and Groskopf, said they know council cannot make a decision surrounding future applications that have not yet been submitted, but they were “recommending that council be cognoscente of the implications for these two properties and perhaps more should the ‘hidden quarry rezoning be approved,” Tripp said.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Mayor Chris White said, “[I] appreciate the message and will certainly take it into consideration.”
However, community member Minton Wing stood up in the gallery and posed a question to White.
“Part of your election campaign indicated that there would be a financial consideration about property values, etcetera, etcetera would be looked into … as part of the quarry issue,” he began. “Can I ask if you’ve proceeded with that initiative and where it might stand?”
White said that issue would be addressed in the economic development review, which is not yet complete.
Wing said his concern is that property values will decline.
“The mega quarry in Caledon was rejected on one issue and that was the impact that that quarry would have on land allegations in Erin, and you can imagine that if the Rockwood quarry goes forward, that it’s going to have an impact on land values,” he said.
White said the meeting was not a public meeting so they could not engage in any more back and forth discussion.
“If you guys ever have those types of questions you can certainly bring them to staff or to us,” White said.
“We’re always open to any questions you might have … We’ll tell you what we know when you ask those questions if we know the answer at that time.”
