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 Case

The cornerstones of the Community's case against the application for the proposed quarry continue to be Hydrogeology, Environment, Transportation, and Community Issues.

We have consistently stated that no informed person would grant the right to operate the 8th largest quarry by production volume in Canada at this proposed location. Not only could an open pit industrial mine be a threat to our water and our environment, the associated transportation to support the industry could be a threat to our safety. Community health and well-being could suffer.

The reports from our retained experts and from the city's peer review team have challenged the substance of the St Marys Cement CBM application, and rightly so. St Marys' case does not hold water - ours does. More recently, the application for a permit to take water has received letters with clearly expressed cautions from the city of Hamilton and from Conservation Halton. Coordinated through FORCE, the Community has also registered its objections citing the concerns raised by our hydrogeological and environmental experts.

A greenfield site, within the provincially designated Greenbelt, surrounded by farms, rural settlements, schools, and conservation lands is no place to be developing an open pit industrial mine.

Even when the long-term plans for the site are considered, there are many concerns. St Marys promises expanded wetlands and a lake. These plans do not address the potential impact of such a stagnant lake on municipal water systems or the safety measures required for any remaining steep quarry walls. These proposals also fail to acknowledge the intermediate effects of pumping up to 3.6 million gallons of water each day for 60 years, potentially contaminating it and then re-injecting it into the aquifer. Our children, our children's children, and our children's children's children could all suffer the consequences of degraded water quality and supply, with associated threats to health and safety.