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2006 Annual Report

Message from Chair - Environmental Defence - The Proponent - The Application - The Case - Natural Environment - Transportation - Community - Hydrogeology - Financials - Public Activity Report - References - Volunteer Committee


The Proponent

St Marys Cement CBM Group is a new player in the application process, and as we noted after their acquisition, nothing has changed; it's the same package just with a different wrapper. Despite over two years of effort and the employment of reputable technical consultants, Lowndes Holdings Corp. failed to convince the city of Hamilton's third party peer review team that its technical plans for the operation of the proposed quarry were complete or convincing. The transportation, hydrogeological, noise and natural environment reports were all deemed inadequate, and sent back for extensive revision. Lowndes Holdings Corp. bailed. Its apparent defeat stemmed from:

  1. The case. The plans for the proposed quarry could not demonstrate how the project could be implemented without unacceptable consequences to groundwater and to the natural environment. The recommended Mitigation plans for this setting are challenging and the proposed system is unproven.
  2. The improved regulatory environment. The new Greenbelt Plan and the Ontario Clean Water Act raise the bar for establishing a new greenfield quarry.
  3. Opposition from our Community. We have been professional, reasoned and unrelenting in exposing and highlighting the weakness of the Proponent's case.

Our new neighbour, St Marys Cement CBM, has a familiar and homegrown name, but in 2001 it was purchased by a private Brazilian multinational corporation, Votorantim - one of Brazil's largest private economic conglomerates. For our purposes, it is important to note that when Votorantim purchased their Canadian aggregate and cement operation, St Marys Cement CBM, they planned to export some 500,000 tonnes annually to the USA and eventually to serve markets in Angola and Nigeria on the west coast of Africa1.

Make no mistake, should a quarry application succeed, its owners stand to earn millions at the possible expense of our water and community health. St Marys Cement CBM will likely try to charm us with a polished public relations campaign, promises, and donations to community groups, but it is our responsibility to remain united in our opposition of this application.

 


Together We Will Succeed!