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. The following are my concerns and questions that I would like to have addressed and answered prior to any approval of this quarry. Experts in silica say that it could take up to 15 years for any evidence that silica dust could cause a health problem. There is now documentation that granite counter tops used in household kitchens have been found to give off radiation thus causing serious health hazards to the occupants. I want to know and be assured that this silica dust is not a threat to the residents of the area and wildlife. In fact I am requesting documentation and study reports to support that we are not at risk. Residents in the area are panicking, putting their homes up for sale, because of the potential risk. The quarry has already begun its destruction of the community. There are homesteads that have been in families for generations. Young families with children have real concerns of what effects this dust will have on their children in years to come. Should we be eating the food that we grow in this potentially poisoned soil? Should we be selling this food to outsiders to consume? This quarry offers nothing positive to the community which is already struggling. We are told that residents always lose in the end. How is it that a quarry owner can purchase any piece of land, destroy a community, wildlife and disrupt people who have used this area for years and the government supports this? Why does the government not control quarry sites and keep them in close proximity? Why is it supported by the government that quarries can pick and choose many locations to destroy? There are too many sites now that have destroyed and disrupted wildlife, our heritage, communities, businesses, ... We have a small, family business on our farm. It has taken us 12 years to build this. My family has worked extremely hard to build this business. Giofam now puts our business at risk. Our customers have concerns about the heavy use of the trucks that will be using this road. It is already heavily used by logging trucks. School buses make many stops on this road. Are our children at more of a risk? Giofam found it amusing at the first public meeting when concerns were expressed that the Spotted Turtle (which is a species at risk) could be at risk. Spotted turtles have been spotted on this proposed site and are known to be in the Cranberry River. I want assurance that all wildlife will not be affected by this proposed quarry. I do not believe that there are no species at risk on this site. I would like definitive answers by an independent consultant other than one employed by Giofam. Some residents in the area had their wells tested. Even at this point they were misled as to why their wells were being tested. My one neighbour had high levels of lead in their water. Why were they not notified immediately? They have been drinking this contaminated, health-threatening water for years. This to me is criminal. It also tells me that we are not in the best interest to Giofam and I do not trust them to monitor the effects their quarry will have on our health or the environment. I was told at the meeting that letters were sent out to the well owners. Why is it that 10 residents that I know of did not receive these letters? Residents are concerned that the value of their homes and property will decline. What compensation will Giofam offer to the residents of the area? I am not convinced that there will not be some adverse effects on the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park and the surrounding area. This whole area is important to many species including plants and animals. This quarry will definitely have adverse effects. There is no documentation or advice from the experts that can stop this from happening. We cannot take the chance. I am requesting the government take a stand and respect residents, the environment and wildlife in proposed areas that are subject to having a quarry. As citizens we are demanding that government support our rights and concerns and stop this quarry from destroying our heritage, our wildlife, our livelihoods, and our community. 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 here 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. We already have to deal with a lot of tourism traffic 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 emissions, 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 of us 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 km 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 km radius. The mitigation system includes trigger mechanisms which will warn the applicant when water levels drop but we want guarantees that our wells will remain clean and operational. The mitigration system includes no details and no contingency should it fail. This state of affairs leaves our 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 Our 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, we have 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, 5-lined skinks and salamanders; and other creatures. We have 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 here 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 this 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 we can’t see going on in the background. The applicant claims that this is for security purposes. We want the complete facility to be out of our sight and the applicant has more than enough land to move the accessory uses area away from public view. Damage to Farm Land Growing / raising and buying local food is important to all of us. The number of working farms in our area has diminished considerably in the last 20 years. However, there is an active farm right beside the proposed quarry and we are all concerned that 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 our 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 our 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 our property and will impair the quality of the natural environment.