Residents ‘raise voices’ against quarry
by Cecily Ross
It was elbows up and gloves off in Mulmur Saturday morning as upwards of 70 citizens and activists crowded into town hall to learn what they can do to prevent the establishment of a below-water-table limestone quarry in nearby Melancthon Township.
Hosted by MC2 (Mulmur-Mono Citizens Coalition), the meeting was a response to Strada Aggregates’ October application to blast and extract limestone at an existing sand and gravel pit located east of Horning’s Mills. The proposed extraction area is 65.7 hectares, equivalent to 110 Canadian football fields. The holding capacity of trenches and ponds is 1.7 billion litres, equivalent to 640 Olympic swimming pools. The deadline for public comment is Nov. 10.
“We have been here before,” Mulmur mayor Janet Horner told the assembly, referring to the successful fight in 2012 to stop a megaquarry a few kilometres north of Strata’s current proposal. “We won that one,” she said, adding, “for a while.”
“We are stewards of this area. Collectively we must raise our voices,” Horner said.
The meeting heard from Susan Lloyd-Swail of the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition, who said, “There is no aggregate supply crisis.”
According to a 2024 Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) study, she said, “the greater Golden Horseshoe area has a 38-year supply, a 6.2 billion- tonne reserve.”
Because aggregates are a vital resource in construction-hungry Ontario the provincial Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) allows quarry developers to bypass comprehensive environmental assessment requirements resulting in inadequate oversight of the industry. As well, a recent auditor general’s report criticized the province’s management of the resource and the MNR’s lack of enforcement.
Working to bring much needed reforms to gravel mining, Lloyd- Swail told the meeting, “We are not going to allow unregulated extraction anymore. We are creating a wave across Ontario.”
Stephen Middleton, a retired scientist and MC2 representative eviscerated Strada’s 82-page impact study released in January. He noted the Strada proposal does not specify how long the mine will operate. He outlined the study’s inadequate analysis of such issues as the dangers of fly rock, water impacts, air quality effects, and traffic assessments. The mine is expected to produce two million tonnes of aggregate per year. Middleton estimated this would require blasting several times per week. Blast rock can fly up to 1,000 metres. He raised the spectacle of 50,000 truck loads per year going in and out of the pit possibly over a 40- to 50-year period. He also noted the proposed blast quarry sits over “a priceless aquifer that contains some of the purest drinking water in the world.”
Calling the impact study “moronically stupid” among other things, he concluded, “In my humble opinion this is not an industry that can be trusted.”
Larry Tatham, representing Melancthon Against Quarries, offered strategies for how to win a quarry fight.
Number one, he said is, “Get serious about fighting back. This mine has the potential for catastrophic damage. Our response needs to be total.”
He said Premier Doug Ford will ultimately decide.
“He will back down. He has in the past and will again,” said Tatham.
To that end he exhorted the crowd to “apply a constant stream of pressure.” Strada was not invited to Saturday’s meeting, according to Kevin Powers, a company representative.
“So we did not go,” he told The Echo. “We will respond to any questions once the 60-day comment period has ended.”
The two-hour meeting concluded with a very human story as Melancthon resident Vera Odette, read from a formal objection letter she wrote regarding the Strada proposal. She, her husband and one-year-old daughter Violette, live on a 50-acre property within 100 metres of the proposed blast quarry.
“This is tough because I’m a new mom,” she began, her voice breaking as she addressed the meeting. “If the blast quarry is approved, our dream of stewarding a property and living off the land will be irrevocably threatened.” Then, regaining her composure, she added, “F U Strada.”
Cecily Ross photo: Mulmur-Mono Citizens Coalition representative Stephen Middleton addresses a crowd of citizens concerned about the Strada Aggregates quarry application gathered at the municipal offices in Mulmur on Oct. 18.
