Cox Creek Environmental Alliance fighting proposed Lichty Pit

CENTRE WELLINGTON – Centre Wellington doesn’t get too many gravel pit applications, but one near Ariss has already caused neighbouring residents to join together in opposition.

James Thoume Construction Ltd. has applied for above-the-water- table extraction under the Aggregate Resources Act on property at 5999-6043 8th Line East and 7190 Sideroad 12 in  former Pilkington Township.

As the land is zoned agricultural, it will require a zoning change amendment by Centre Wellington Township and an official plan amendment by Wellington County.

The land is situated along the Cox Creek spillway and “contains approximately 1.2 million tonnes of high-quality aggregate resources suitable for use in road-based granular construction materials,” states the justification report by Stovel and Associates Inc., the planning firm hired by Thoume.

If approved, the Lichty Pit, as it’s called, would extract a maximum 100,000 tonnes per year for 10 to 15 years, depending on market demand.

For Nicki Hettinga, having a gravel pit across the road from where she lives would undo the environmental work the previous owners have done for some 30 years, and that she and her late husband Peter have continued since buying the property in 2018.

“There’s a wetland complex, creeks, woodlands and it’s good farmland,” Hettinga said of her property.

“We’re the third people to take the baton and took after the place.”

A quarry across the road would impact the calm and serenity of her property, Hettinga said, and potentially the way her off-grid home functions. Without air conditioning, she’s able to open her windows and get a cool breeze due to the way her home was constructed.

With a working pit across the road, she’d have to close her windows for noise and dust, rendering her passive solar system useless.

But more than the personal impacts, the pit would impact wetlands, woodlands, wildlife and water quality in private wells in the vicinity, she said.

“Everywhere I turn it doesn’t look good for residents, for water, for the wetland. There are holes in their ecological report,” Hettinga said, noting the newly formed Cox Creek Environmental Alliance hired an expert to look over Thoume’s studies.

“We found staggering holes in their studies. There are species at risk, it will affect the aquifer, and air quality will be an issue,” she said. She noted the Auditor General’s report on aggregate operations in Ontario indicates there is already enough aggregate to serve the province. 

And Hettinga fears the pit, if approved, will go below the water table as there’s not much aggregate on the surface. “It will have such an adverse effect; it’s just not sustainable,” she added.

With assistance from the Wellington Water Watchers, the Cox Creek Environmental Alliance has an online petition and is asking folks to sign the petition or to reach out to county and township councillors.

To find the petition, visitwaterwatchers.ca/currentactions and scroll down to the Save Cox Creek tab.