TTLW is an Ingersoll based…

TTLW is an Ingersoll based organization that supports environmental sustainability, including waste reduction and diversion, community gardens, community owned renewable energy, electric vehicles, and zero-footprint housing: all part of building healthy, resilient communities. Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on EBR Numbers 012-9852, 012-9850, 012-9849, 012-9848, 012-9845, 012-9843. After attempting to provide information on how our membership could provide comments online for these proposals, several people reported encountering difficulty getting the website to work properly, and their comments were not recorded. We also ran into difficulty trying to get copies of the most recent site plans for Carmeuse, which the local municipalities and Oxford County were apparently never provided copies of. Careful reading of the EBR postings revealed that the only information linked is an online copy of the Aggregate Resources Act. There isn't anything specific to the proposals other than some very general information, presumably provided by Carmeuse, and there are no attached documents at all. We were among the many organizations and members of the public who requested that the total time for public comments on the proposals be lengthened to 90 days due to the many complications in attempting to comment, and the difficulties we encountered in trying to collect materials to review. We ended up going to many different sources, from the local level, to the County, the MNRF, Ministry of Environment, etc., and were still unable to get copies of what we consider quite basic information pertaining to site history, quarry operations, and compliance, that we felt would provide a thorough over-view of the situation, and what the changes may mean. We remain disappointed that the MNRF only granted a 30 day extension based on technical difficulties, and did not rectify the gaps in information provided online for the public to view, by attaching any additional links or documents. TTLW has been a stakeholder organization involved in public consultation for the Walker Industries Southwestern Landfill Proposal for approximately 5 years. We find the timing odd for such comprehensive and substantial changes to Carmeuse Lime's quarrying licences and site plans, and we are left wondering how comments made on Walker's Terms of Reference, and the ongoing environmental assessment would be impacted by such drastic changes. We are also greatly concerned that a lack of technical information available for the ministry and public to review means that we have no way of knowing how the changes might impact our drinking water aquifer, the quantity and quality of water in our area lakes, as well as the Thames River and its tributaries in the area. We also wonder why Carmeuse is not planning on attempting to restore any of the prime agricultural land that it is extracting to agriculture, when adjacent lands are prime agricultural land, and given that part of building a sustainable community means access to fresh local food? There is a lack of information about rehabilitation in general in the EBR postings, and that leaves the community uneasy, as we have already made known to the Province that we are not a willing host to a landfill on the Carmeuse site as an after-use of the property. Why has the MNRF not required Carmeuse to surrender the portion of their licence that is currently known as the Quarry Lake? The company has many settling ponds on the property they could make use of, and the Quarry Lake could be spared the influx of industrial sewage the MOECC is currently allowing Carmeuse to discharge into it. TTLW objects to the fish, birds and other wild-life in the Quarry Lake and vicinity being exposed to quarry effluent, and we remain concern about potential impacts to our drinking water aquifer. The gap in communication observed between the MNRF and MOECC regarding the Carmeuse property continues to be alarming for our community, as we wonder how the agency that approves pits and quarries could do their job efficiently while avoiding communication with the agency that permits those same pits and quarries to discharge contaminants to air and water and allows water to be drawn from our ground water sources and rivers. Where is the cohesive multi-agency effort to monitor our local environment and make sure it is restored and kept safe for our community and future generations? The people who live around the Carmeuse Quarry have made many concerns know to our organization, and we will continue to voice those concerns and advocate for clean lakes and rivers, safe air, protected drinking water, and roads that will some day be safe again for our neighbourhood children and active community members to bike on. We dream of a better future for Oxford's children, and we hope you will join us in ensuring that happens.