I am writing this objection…

I am writing this objection in response to the Notice regarding the application for a Category 2, Class A License by Giofam Investments Inc. to mine granite from a proposed quarry located on Part of Lots 18 through 21, Concession 4, and Part Lots 19 and 20, Concession 5, in the geographic Township of Dalton, formerly the County of Victoria, now in the City of Kawartha Lakes. Please accept the following as some of the reasons for my objection. No Acceptable Haul Routes and Public Safety at Risk Monck Road is narrow, winding, and has beautiful scenery. It would need significant widening and asphalt build-up before becoming a haul route. Quarry trucks will leave a trail of dust, including silica dust, on and beside the roads, on the Head River and on Young’s Lake. The road is used by the people who live there to get to work, to schools, to and from agricultural operations, to local businesses, to friends, and to community sports and activities. It is also used by emergency vehicles. After leaving the Monck Road the quarry trucks will travel south or north on Highway 169 and then travel great distances before reaching any 400-series highways. The province should look at using the existing quarries along the 400 highway in the Parry Sound area before it starts to excavate granite from virgin operations which need to depend on secondary arterial roads for transport. There is no agreement on who would pay for the capital and ongoing maintenance of the Monck Road and no plans are in place for bringing the road up to standards before the quarry operation begins. The increased traffic on the Monck Road would cause significant problems for the existing users. There is already a lot of tourism traffic to deal with in the summer and there have been numerous fatalities on the Monck Road in the last 5 years – many of them caused by speeding or passing on curves. There will be health issues from truck emis¬sions, especially if and when the trucks line up at the quarry gate. The noise from trucks, especially the empty ones, is a concern and one not dealt with in the application documents. Finally, the increased traffic (and the nature of it) will create safety risks for cars, school buses, farm vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. One accident is too many. The proposed entrance to the quarry is totally unacceptable. Although it falls within MTO MINIMUM sight requirements, those who live in this area know that it will become another dangerous area on the Monck Road. At the present time, making a left- or right-hand turn from or on to Lake Dalrymple Road is precarious. Nine times out of ten someone is on your bumper right after you make your turn. Unacceptable Impacts on the Water Supply and Water Quality The only source of drinking and household water in this area is groundwater. All private wells for homes, neighbouring farms, and businesses rely on it. The proponent has dug boreholes to monitor well water levels on the quarry site and plans to monitor wells within a one kilometre radius of the quarry. This means that as few as three properties might have their wells tested annually. This is not adequate and the well monitoring needs to be carried out in at least a three kilometre radius. The mitigation system includes trigger mechanisms which will warn the applicant when water levels drop but there needs to be guarantees that wells will remain clean and operational. The mitigation system includes no details and no contingency should it fail. This state of affairs leaves the community exposed. Water produced from dewatering the open pits will be fed into nearby watercourses which will then flow into the Cranberry and Head River watersheds. The proponent will be applying for a permit to take as much as 8.1 million litres of water per day. This is equivalent to the consumption of approximately 10,000 households (based on Environment Canada’s published per capita residential consumption in Ontario of 260 litres per day and assuming three persons per household). Discharging this amount of water into the Cranberry River would double the flow rate during low flow periods in the summer. Drawing this amount of water from the water table and then discharging it into the river is likely to affect the many species of wildlife that live in the wetlands and the Cranberry River and their habitat. The new Clean Water Act promises protection for our drinking water right at its source. The law promises to prevent problems before they happen. If something goes wrong, there is no Plan B for our drinking water. Protection of our water must be the first priority and take precedence over a proposed quarry. Destruction of the Natural Environment in an Unspoiled Township This is a beautiful part of the province. There are forests, meadows, lakes, rivers, streams, swamps, and unspoiled wilderness. And, because these habitats exist, there is pike, walleye, bass, and muskie; songbirds, osprey, herons, owls, waterfowl, loggerhead shrike, hawks and other raptors; white tailed deer, foxes, coyotes, bears, beavers, minks, and otters; a wide range of insects; turtles, frogs, five-lined skinks and salamanders; and other creatures. There is flora like the tamarack, burl oak and numerous species of wildflowers and mosses. Quarries and the huge open pit mines they create are destructive. They remove everything in the extraction area – the soil, the plants and the trees, and they change the temperature and chemistry of the streams. Habitats are permanently lost. Endangered species, species at risk and their habitats are present on and around the site. Some were mentioned in the Giofam reports; some were not. The quarry would impact all of them and how they connect to one another. Giofam Investments’ application documents tell us they concede these features are present but they want us to believe that the unproven mitigation system will take care of everything. Field studies were undertaken for the application but a lot of the findings relied on out-of-date studies and reports and several suppositions when data was not available. Protecting the diversity of species and maintaining natural corridors and connectivity is very important. The MNR should be doing everything in its power to protect the combination of natural attributes existing in the area. Blasting, dust, noise, vibrations, lights, fuelling and maintenance and trucking would also negatively affect the environment. The destruction from an open pit mine would be permanent. The proposed site will be the next door neighbour of the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park, a park created to fulfil four objectives: protection, heritage appreciation, recreation and tourism. None of these objectives will be met if a quarry is permitted right beside the park, especially since the quarry property will not be fenced. The MNR should be more concerned with protecting our natural resources rather than with exploiting them. The accessory use area will be in full sight of the Monck Road – a constant reminder of what can’t be seen going on in the background. The applicant claims that this is for security purposes. The complete facility should be out of sight and the applicant has more than enough land to move the accessory use area away from public view. Damage to Farm Land Growing/raising and buying local food is important. The number of working farms in the area has diminished considerably in the last 20 years. However, there is an active farm right beside the proposed quarry and this and other farms in the area could be affected by water impacts, dust, noise and truck traffic on the same road used by farmers and farming equipment. The Land is not Zoned for Mineral Extraction under the Official Plan; This Proposed Use is Incompatible The land for the proposed quarry is zoned rural, residential, not for mineral extraction by an industrial company. There are no other quarries in Dalton Township and I do not think the Official Plan should be changed to allow their existence in this quiet, clean, natural environment. Tranquility is the largest natural resource in Dalton Township and it is a resource that benefits not only the residents of Dalton Township but the many tourists who pass through the area. Please deny this quarry licence. Approval of the licence will adversely affect or interfere with public health and safety, comfort levels, the enjoyment and normal use of properties and will impair the quality of the natural environment.