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FORCE recipient of Environmentalist of the Year award - Wed., Apr. 24, 2013
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Mahoney: Quarry foes set to celebrate holding their ground - Mon., Apr. 8, 2013
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Quarry battle over opponents say - Wed.,Mar. 27, 2013
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FORCE ready to celebrate quarry victory - Thurs., Mar. 14, 2013
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My View: The community that could
General FAQS
- What is aggregate?
- What is aggregate used for?
- What is a pit?
- What is a quarry?
- What is a wayside pit or quarry?
- What are wetlands?
- Why are wetlands important?
- What makes a wetland provincially significant?
- What are Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) and why are they important?
- What is a habitat?
- What is a species at risk?
- Are there any threatened or endangered species in this area?
- Water Facts
For natural resources extraction purposes, aggregate is defined as "gravel, sand...stone, limestone, dolostone...or rock". In other words, it is almost any bulk mineral resource other than metal ore. Aggregate can be unconsolidated (gravel or sand that exists as separate particles), or it can be consolidated (solid rock). Consolidated aggregate is often broken up or crushed for use. The aggregates that concern us are gravel, sand and dolostone.
The major use of aggregate is in construction. Aggregate can be used as is, for roadbeds, unpaved roads, and as gravel fill or pads or septic beds. Aggregate is also a major component of concrete and asphalt, and as such is used in almost all building projects and road construction.
A pit is an area of land from which unconsolidated aggregate (sand and/or gravel) is being excavated. Usually much smaller scale operations than quarries.
A quarry is an area of land from which consolidated aggregate (solid rock) is being excavated. This excavation often requires blasting and can go below the water table.
What is a wayside pit or quarry?
A wayside pit or quarry is a temporary pit or quarry which supplies aggregate for a temporary public project, specifically construction or maintenance of a road. It may operate only for the duration of the project or for 18 months, whichever is shorter. However, the period of operation of a wayside pit or quarry may be extended by the Minister if the project requires it. The license requirements for a wayside pit or quarry are much less rigorous than for a full scale aggregate operation, and can override local zoning concerns. A wayside operation may cause "temporary inconvenience to the public".
Wetlands are lands that are seasonally or permanently covered by shallow water, including lands where the water table is at or close to the surface. The abundant water favours the dominance of water plants or water-tolerant plants and aquatic or semi-aquatic animal communities. Wetlands may exist on their own, or as shoreline features of bodies of water such as lakes, rivers or streams. As mentioned above, wetlands may be seasonal-wet in the spring and early summer, but drying up later in the season. Such seasonal wetlands may not even be "wet" in the driest years.
Wetlands are important both for their own sake and because of their value to people.
The intrinsic value of wetlands is that they are major centres of biodiversity. In other words they are the home to a huge variety of living creatures, both plant and animal.
The practical values of wetlands are many. Probably the most important is that they are natural sponges and filters for surface water. They absorb and hold waters in wet periods and release it gradually, thus reducing the risk of flooding. The water that is released from a wetland has been filtered through and by the abundant vegetation and is often cleaner and of higher quality than the upstream or source water. This is particularly important as wetlands may also serve as recharge areas for underground water (aquifers). Shoreline wetlands also protect the shores of lakes and watercourses from erosion during high water and flood situations. Biologically, wetlands are home to many creatures that people consider important. They are breeding areas for waterfowl, spawning areas for food, sport and forage fish, breeding grounds for ecologically important creatures such as amphibians, and the source of many insects that provide food for birds and bats. (Some people don't consider this last issue an positive attribute!!). Some wetlands have significant recreational (and therefore economic) value to nature lovers and hunters. The esthetic value of wetlands is difficult to measure, but spring nights in the country would be sad and incomplete without the beautiful music of the spring peepers, toads and gray tree frogs.
What makes a wetland provincially significant?
The Province of Ontario recognizes the importance of wetlands and has a complex formula for assessing the importance of particular wetlands. This involves considering about 50 characteristics of the wetland, including type and rarity of the wetland, size, relationship to other wetlands, site of the wetland in relation to other habitats, economic, recreational and esthetic value of the wetland, flood control and erosion control value of the wetland, role of the wetland in improving water quality, biodiversity of the wetland, presence of rare, threatened or endangered species and many others. These values are measured and the significance of the wetland is calculated according to the Ministry of Natural Resources formula. If the score is high enough the wetland is considered to be sufficiently important to be designated as a Provincially Significant Wetland (PSW). There is a PSW designation for part of the Lowndes Holdings Corp. properties and surrounding areas.
What are Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) and why are they important?
In the new City of Hamilton, Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs) are natural areas that have been identified as significant and worthy of protection based on three criteria:
- Significant Earth Science Feature
- Significant Hydrological Feature or
- Function Significant Ecological Function
Our neighbourhood, and the Lowndes Holdings Corp. properties, contain parts of two officially designated ESAs, the Mountsberg East Wetlands (Hamilton ESA #1) and the Carlisle North Forests (Hamilton ESA #2), the former also having Provincially Significant Wetland (PSW) designation (Hamilton Natural Areas Inventory, 2003, pp. 39-42 and pp. 270-274). Both areas have been designated because they represent areas of Significant Hydrological Function and Significant Ecological Function. Hydrologically, ESA #1 is a groundwater recharge area, maintains surface water quality and regulates stream flow in Bronte Creek, while ESA #2 maintains water quality in local cold water streams. Ecologically, both areas serve as ecological corridors between natural areas, contain habitat for signficant species, and contain increasingly rare interior forest habitat. The Hamilton Natural Areas Inventory document recommends that both areas be protected against development for these important reasons.
A habitat is the home of an species, plant or animal. Home is defined in a very broad sense, and includes the area or areas used by the species to live, feed and reproduce. This would include the physical features of that area including climate, elevation, topography, soil, water, exposure to the elements, etc., and all the other plants, animals and microorganisms in that area that affect the species.
In Ontario, a species at risk is officially defined as "any plant or animal threatened by, or vulnerable to extinction." A species becomes extinct when all the members of that species have died. There are several categories of risk officially recognized in Ontario. The two most serious categories are "endangered" and "threatened". A species considered to be officially endangered is "any native species that is at risk of becoming extinct in Ontario." A species considered to be officially threatened is "any native species that is at risk of becoming endangered in Ontario." In Ontario, as in most of the world, the greatest problem for species at risk is the loss of habitat.
Are there any threatened or endangered species in this area?
The short answer is that nobody is sure. With the intensified interest in these ESA and PSW designated areas caused by the potential for major industrial development, we can expect that significant ecological surveys will happen to determine the answer to this question.
Quarries (or open-pit mines) have the potential to seriously impact upon both the quantity and quality of water in surrounding areas. In particular, the following concerns have been raised by experts in the field:
- "One of these issues is environmental protection. Although the environment is
broadly defined, the principal areas of interest with respect quarries are noise, dust,
odour/emissions, vegetation/habitat including wetlands, wildlife, water quality and water
quantity associated with both groundwater and surface water resources. The impact of a quarry
on the environment depends in part on the nature of the physical setting and the type of quarry
operation. Noise, dust and odour/emissions are typically related to operations...
... but may affect vegetation/habitat and wildlife. However, as economics drive the process, the size and depth of quarries continues to increase in order to extract the full depth of the resource. Such operations usually involve de-watering and may also interfere with surface water resources. - Quarries which extend below the groundwater table are de-watered to maintain dry operating
conditions. A portion of the accumulated water may be used for aggregate processing."
- Source: QUARRIES - AN ESSENTIAL COMMODITY -Jagger Hims Limited
- The dewatering of the excavation results in a lowering of the groundwater table around the
pit or quarry..."
- Source: QUARRIES - AN ESSENTIAL COMMODITY -Jagger Hims Limited
- "...Water wells are the principal source of water for residential, commercial and
industrial development in rural areas. Most quarries are also located in rural areas. The
limestone and dolostone rock formations that are mined in quarries for aggregate in southern
Ontario are often groundwater aquifers and thus also represent the water source for many wells...
...Close to the excavation where the drawdown is the greatest, shallow wells could become dry, and deeper wells may lose capacity...."- Source: QUARRIES - AN ESSENTIAL COMMODITY -Jagger Hims Limited
- "The effects of a large pumping stress on a steady state aquifer system are reasonably
well understood, but if the same stress is imposed on system with naturally varying water levels
the response will be different. Since natural systems rarely maintain a steady state it is the
later scenario that is most relevant to studying the impact of a large pumping stress on aquifers.
Dewatering for quarry operations is one of the main sources of large pumping stresses and these
operations often conflict with domestic and agricultural water uses...
...This study focuses on an aggregate quarry in northwestern Ohio. The dewatering for this quarry has produced a cone of depression in two bedrock aquifers, covering an area >10 sq mi, and resulted in over 100 complaints from owners of nearby domestic water wells.- Source: VAN OORT, Martin D., Geological Sciences, Ohio State University