People will soon be able to offer their opinions on the proposed Neubauer gravel pit in Puslinch Township.
On May 5 council agreed to proceed with a public meeting for the application to rezone 28.3 hectares (70 acres) from an agricultural designation to an extraction industrial zone.
Glenn Harrington, who represents proponent St. Mary’s Cement, explained the extraction area for the site, located immediately east of the existing McNally pit, will be about 24.6 hectares (60acres) in size.
He said the pit will produce about 750,000 tonnes of material every year – with 100,000 coming from below the water table – and about 9 million tonnes in total.
Harrington told council the process to define the border of a nearby Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) took up approximately half of the St.Mary’s’ two year application process. So, his client wants to proceed with a public meeting as quickly as possible, he said.
While councillors had no trouble agreeing to a meeting, several noted St. Mary’s should be contributing something towards upgrades along the proposed pit’s haul route.
“I?think something has to be done,” councillor Dick Visser said, pointing out the large proceeds St. Mary’s will make given the volume of aggregate to be extracted.
Harrington said he would discuss that with his client.
