A hearing to determine whether a quarry should be permitted to go back into operation east of Guelph became heated even before the first delegate spoke on Tuesday.
It was the first day of an Ontario Municipal Board hearing on the controversial plot of land known as the hidden quarry – 100 acres in Wellington County off Highway 7 near the community of Rockwood.
James Dick Construction is fighting for permission to pull 700,000 tons of sand and gravel from the site.
Before the hearing even began, lawyers for the company produced an amended site plan.
Opposition lawyers called that unfair.
The lawyers for James Dick Construction claimed the municipal side “didn’t even want to participate in the hearing.”
Some residents in the area argue using explosives to take tons of material from the hidden quarry would cause a number of issues – the most serious being a possible threat to the water supply.
“We're on wells. And if the blasting below ground, which is actually at the same sea level as our wells, if it contaminates our wells or interrupts our supplies, it affects a huge population,“ said Milton Coun. Cindy Lunau.
The hidden quarry site contains dolomite, which is a highly desirable construction material.
“We want to build infrastructure in Ontario out of the highest quality materials to get the longest lifespan we can,” said Greg Sweetnam of James Dick Construction.
Halton officials are also against the hidden quarry plan and argue recycled aggregate and other stones can also be used in construction.
“You only have to look at the old Pearson airport’s terminal 1 … 94 per cent of it was reused on site,” said Milton councillor Colin Best.
A decision on the hidden quarry site should come in a few weeks.
With reporting from Max Wark
