Wetlands, butternuts, and salamanders: Nelson Aggregate hearing begins today
Read Live Dispatches from the Hearing Now!
Aggregate has been pulled from the Niagara Escarpment at Mount Nemo since 1952. The existing Burlington Quarry is now approaching the end of its life. Hoping to continue to extract two million tonnes of material from the area each year, Nelson Aggregate Co. bought the property south of the existing quarry and applied to continue quarrying there.
Before this expansion can proceed, Nelson Aggregate requires a variety of approvals and licences from the provincial government. To determine whether a quarry expansion can happen without harming the environment, a Joint Board of the Environmental Review Tribunal and the Ontario Municipal Board is holding a hearing. After a run-up of almost five years, that hearing starts today!
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper objects to quarrying on the Niagara Escarpment. We have asked the Joint Board to deny Nelson Aggregate’s application to expand the Burlington Quarry so that the area can be protected and restored.
As a Participant in the hearing, our role is to submit a statement, present our position orally to the Joint Board, and attend and report on the hearing. To ensure that anyone interested can follow the hearing’s progress, we will be blogging as we go, so check back often!
The proposed quarry would be located at the heart of Mount Nemo. Nelson’s property includes provincially significant wetlands and woodlands. Two species at risk (the Jefferson Salamander and the Butternut tree) have been documented on and adjacent to the Nelson property. Water resources that originate on Nelson’s property, or that are fed by groundwater and streams on Nelson’s property, feed and replenish Lake Ontario.
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper wholeheartedly supports efforts to protect and restore vital waterways. The Nelson Aggregate proposal does neither. Read more about Mount Nemo, the Niagara Escarpment, and Nelson’s application to expand the Burlington Quarry. Check back often for our live dispatches from the hearing as exciting evidence is presented and expert witnesses are cross-examined.
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Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL)