Residents voice objections to another aggregate pit proposed for Puslinch

PUSLINCH – CBM was met with opposition at a public meeting June 18 as officials explained the company wants to mine another property in Puslinch Township for sand and gravel.

The property is at 6947 Concession 2 at Sideroad 20 and is currently zoned agricultural. They call it the Aberfoyle South Lake Pit.

The company has applied for a license with the Ministry of Natural Resources and is seeking an official plan amendment with Wellington County and a zoning change with Puslinch Township.

There will be no on-site processing. Gravel will be taken for processing to the McNally pit just down the road on Concession 2 and from there would be shipped to market, CBM officials said at a June 18 public meeting.

The proposed licensed area is approximately 39.2 hectares, with approximately 27.5 hectares proposed for extraction.

The company anticipates a maximum of one million tonnes per year to be extracted over six to 10 years. The vast majority of reserves are below the water table.

CBM officials emphasized the rehabilitation plan and provided an image of a lake surrounded by forest and wetlands.

The company has already planted 140,000 trees on its existing aggregate sites, officials said.

In his summary, Rob Stovel of Stovel and Associates, the planner for the township, said there are “gaps” between the township’s consultants and the applicant’s consultants on matters around the wetlands on the property, and water levels that may impact surrounding private wells.

“There are a bunch of unanswered questions,” Stovel said, which is why he said he could not advise supporting the proposal.

“The gap is too big,” he added.

He said matters not satisfactorily addressed include:

– water impacts;

– wetland impacts; and

– the effect of the proposed haul route.

John McNie delegated on behalf of Friends of Mill Creek and wondered if there is enough gravel and sand on the site to make it worth destroying a “beautiful” piece of agricultural land and putting at risk the Mill Creek, its tributaries and all its water life.

He noted there currently is no aggregate overlay on the property and it’s zoned prime agriculture, core greenlands and a natural environmental zone.

He added there are significant water concerns, and a survey of private wells has not happened.

“There’s a lot of wishful thinking by CBM,” he said. “Approval would cause significant adverse impact.”

To questions from another delegate, CBM officials said only the township, the county and the Ministry of Natural Resources have objections. Other agencies have signed off on the proposal.

Because of those objections, the matter is going to the Ontario Land Tribunal.

It is anticipated there would be 14 trucks an hour leaving the site to the McNally pit, so potentially 120 trips on Concession 2 each day from this one operation. McNally takes gravel from other sites for processing as well.

Barclay Nap, president of the Wellington Federation of Agriculture, stressed that Ontario loses 318 acres of farmland per day and said CBM’s claim that the land will be restored to farmland is not possible.

“This has good soil for farming and pasture. Rehabilitation is not about recovering (farmland),” he said.

CBM officials stated they don’t choose where aggregate is found; it is where it is and that’s where it must be mined.

And the province needs aggregate for all the homes, industry and road projects in the offing.

Cathy White, a resident on Wellington Road 35, said this farm property is particularly beautiful, with lush green trees, an emerald crop and a wetland complex on the edges.

“Aggregate is where aggregate is, but so are these other things where they are,” she said.

Other delegates complained of noise, air quality, traffic on Concession 2 and how that will impact not just drivers, but cyclists who use the route.

One delegate noted that many concerns will be addressed during the site plan process, “but site plans can be changed through the minister. They are amended after,” and there’s little to be done then, she said.

Mayor James Seeley noted CBM has many pits supposedly at the end of their lifespan, but for which it has not surrendered its licenses. He wondered aloud about the need for this pit.

Seeley added he is worried that fill would eventually be imported for rehabilitation. He worried that, along with gravel brought to McNally for processing, would be silt, and he didn’t think the lake at McNally has much capacity left.

CBM officials said they would take away the comments and see if they could adjust their plan.

Council did not make a decision at this meeting. That will happen at a future meeting.