Milton residents worried about traffic, health and safety should quarry project be approved
Published March 28, 2024 at 2:10 pm
A group of concerned Milton residents are taking their campaign to stop a quarry from being constructed in a rural part of the town to Queen’s Park.
Today, ACTION (Association of Citizens Together In Our Nassagaweya) Milton, a group opposed to the reopening of a quarry in the Guelph Line and Hwy. 401 area in Campbellville, appeared alongside NDP Environment Critic MPP Sandy Shaw to ask Premier Doug Ford to keep his promise to stop the proposed project.
ACTION has said the quarry issue is at the top of many residents’ minds, as a provincial by-election is slated for sometime this year. The by-election, which will see former town councillor Zee Hamid run as the PC nominee, was called after Parm Gill stepped down as Milton MPP to join the federal Conservatives.
George Minakakis, chair of ACTION, recently told inhalton.com that the reopening of the Reid Road Reservoir Quarry would be terrible for the community, with explosions affecting the quality of life of local residents by potentially impacting groundwater and creating airborne dust and contaminants.
At a press conference at Queen’s Park, he said Ford has not kept his promise to reject the project.
“It is almost four years later and the premier has not kept his promise to stop the proposed quarry,” Minakakis said in a statement.
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“Premier Ford vowed during his second mandate to ‘get it done,’ however his actions speak differently. We ask him today to keep his promise and stop this project.”
Ford said he was opposed to the quarry in 2020, saying residents and Milton Mayor Gordon Krantz were not in favour of the project.
ACTION says the estimated cost to fight the proposal is approximately $1 million, with funding coming from local residents. According to a news release, the group was formed after James Dick Construction Ltd. applied to ship up to 990,000 tonnes per year of extracted and reprocessed material from the quarry. Underwater blasting will be used to extract up to 350,000 tonnes per year, the group says.
The group says the construction company’s experts said in years with less rain, extraction below 350,000 tonnes a year could impact water levels in nearby wetlands and affect endangered and threatened species near the site.
In a news release, the group says it has concerns about underwater blasting and is worried about the short distance (less than 2 km) between the quarry site and the Guelph Line and Campbellville Road area, which is home to a church, post office, restaurant and homes.
ACTION says it has not received adequate assurance that debris from the site will not fly off and hit cars travelling on the highway.
ACTION also says the proposed quarry could threaten Campbellville and Milton’s water by blasting 100 feet into the aquifer that provides water to approximately 20,000 residents.
The group is also concerned about the potential impact on the environment, particularly protected species such as turtles, salamanders, butternut trees and red dace fish.
The release also says construction could increase traffic in the area.
Earlier, Minakakis told inhalton.com that he wants potential replacements for Gill to understand the issue and make sure they’re on side with his organization.
“I think many politicians forget they’re supposed to be working for the voters. And the voters in this riding don’t want this project.”
The proposal is currently undergoing an environmental assessment and there’s no specific timeframe until shovels are in the ground.
– With files from Jeffrey Allen
