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The Acton Press Wednesday July 1977 Aggregate industry will be law unto themselves if Queens Park accepts Partys suggestions WBUmb A North and South disparities due to Regionalism have been the subject much discussion to date and such dis parities will undoubtedly be much dis cussed in the future The real tragedy of disparity has yet to come The Site F fiasco has caused a split between the Town of Milton and the Town of Halton Hills a split that will be costly to both towns and to North Halton With a little backbone from Halton Hills Regional Councillors the Site thing could be ended once and for all Region could and would have four short term garbage dumps and we would nave a united front for Reclamation plants within six years whereas a divided North leaves Hills and Milton easy prey for the next menace which will be control Real Estate MARKET PLACE Country Builder Campbellville 8781980 your expectations Let us build After Hours Excellent pro potty available or first 3 brick bungalow with largo square room with dining room oodles of cupboards In full basement car garage Active spring with lots of room ponds for today a marks only 00 BOWES COCKS REAL ESTATE LTD ELDA JACKSON ACTON 3 home on qunt street has additional bedroom and loom in basement An extra kitchen with plenty of quality cupboards plus ex cells flooring throughout makes this home well worth inspecting The owner has already pur chased elsewhere and is asking 500 GEOBGEGHAYflEAlTOR Increase water rates Water rates In all urban areas in Halton with the exception of will go up In the first billing after July 1 Acton gels the sbffest In crease of per cent while Burlington and Georgetown rates go up by 30 per cent and in Milton the increase will be 10 per cent already pays one of the highest rates and reg ional treasurer Don Farmer Indicated the rates there wouldnt have to be in creased While the rate increases are large in terms of percent ages the rates people pay for water ore relatively small amounts of money and the increases arent expected to have serious impact Vandals hit Police are Investigating an attack by vandals on the town offices on the Seventh Line last week Two desks in the office were forced open but there was no apparent loss police say The break In was dis covered on the morning of Dominion Day by a municipal employee of your land and my land by the Aggregate industry Early in 1975 I presented a brief to the Ontario Municipal Board in Milton The occasion was the application for a gravel pit licence by Sandand Gravel Company to open a gravel pit in the Camp area At that meeting a Miss spoke on behalf of the Aggregate Industry and Miss testimony was Instrumental in the licence being granted w certain provisions After the Milton OMB Hearings I became concerned that the Aggregate Industry was so organized even to the point of giving Its members awards for housekeeping etc and yet individual municipalities were practically being taken apart piecemeal The small com munity of Ayr was a classic example The town didnt want a gravel pit the OMB even ruled against it but the Minister Leo granted a licence On Feb 21 1976 a meeting was held at Glendon College Toronto Present were representatives from most that had gravel pits or quarries within their boundaries Attending on behalf of North were Dr Ray Durham and myself We had just taken our seats when Miss arrived with an aide James I Immediately questioned their presence and was told that Miss Yundt now represented the Ministry of Natural Resources The transition from represent Ing the Aggregate industry to representing Ihe Government was to me too sudden so I made a motion that Miss and her aide be asked to leave The motion was carried That meeting was the start of the Foundation for Aggregate Studies The first task the Foundation set itself was to analyze a study commissioned 1974 by Proctor and Redfern Ltd Consulting Engineers This study was divided into three parts in It dealt with Central Ontario The second part was published in June and It dealt with the Eastern Region The third part dealing with the South Western portion of the Province should be published shortly To date these studies suggest that there could be a serious shortage of aggregates which could develop within 10 years In Dec the Central Ontario Mineral Ag gregate Working Party to examine the operations of the industry resolve local concerns and provide provincial ob jectives The Working Party was chaired by George Jewell executive director of the Division of Mines Other members con of two former past presidents of the Aggregate Producers Association Public Servants from I G A Ministries of Housing Transportation as well as four Public Municipal Representatives The Working Party s recommendations to the Government were released in Jan and were as follows A Existing municipal powers to regulate pits and quarries under the Municipal Act and the Planning Act will be eliminated and control and regulation of the industry exerted through a series of new boards and commissions with final decision making powers effectively in the hands of the Division of Mines of the Ministry of Natural Resources whose basic aim is to promote the industry B MunlcipalitiesandRcgionswHlbeas- a quote or share of aggregates that they will be compelled to produce each year C The municipalities and regions will be lomd to change their existing Official Plans to designate areas of commercial aggregate potential Private landowners within these designated areas will have their development rights restricted until such time as the grave has been mined out by the privatelyowned gravel industry presumably for private profit D The municipalities and regions will then be given the rather questionable pri vllege of deciding the location of any new pits in aggregate reserve areas and ironically will have tosuffer the outrage of residents when licences are issued for new pits E The Working Party Report implicitly supports mining out reserves in populated regions and takes no positive steps to reduce the current and anticipated large scale strip mining activities The Working Party Report implicitly supports an Increase in truck traffic pending completion of further studies on other forms of transport such as unit trains and lake boats The Working Party recommends the establishment of local Aggregate Advisory Committees but does not recommend that they should have any power The Working Party recommends the establishment an Aggregate Review Board but Its decisions are subject to ministerial review J The Working Party recommends that the Trees Act should be amended to that Section docs not apply to pits and quar THE FAS ALTERNATIVES A Control The revised Pits and Quarries Control Act should be under the Jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment since the Division of Mines which presently is sup posed to enforce the Act has failed miser ably in the task due to its proindustry bias The Ontario Municipal Board should hear all licence applications and rezonlng applications and should have decision making powers appealable only to the Ontario Cabinet Given there are virtually unlimited supplies of sand and gravel In Ontario local municipalities must have the right to accept or reject open pit mining in their communities under the authority of the Planning ActandtheMunnlcipal Act The Planning Act must be amended to define aggregate mining lobe a use of the land to clarify an existing anomaly in interpretation Insofar as aggregate mining Is con the Ministry of Natural Resources should limit its role to mining support vices Pit applications should be subject to environmental assessment requirements similar to those under the Environmental Assessment Act 197S The Ministry of Environment should provide technical support in the develop ment of site plans and rehabilitation requirements Municipalities should be encouraged to pass noise by laws for pit operations and truck noise The Ministries of Housing MORTGAGE FUNDING Homes Construction Farms Bridge Loans Equipment Major Purchases Commercial Debt Consolidation Call today for an appointment to merits MORTGAGES PURCHASED AND ARRANGED 8772679 CALL ANYTIME WEEKENDS INCLUDED ACTON PROPERTIES BEAUTIFUL RANCH BUNGALOW- Excellent Insulation with largo with plenty of cupboard 3 good sUod bed roomi with walk In Tastefully decorated full high bowmen facilities forrocioom Sm this property with Murray Smllh or after hows 863031 LOVELY OLD DUPLEXED complete each with one bedroom kitchen and room Deep full lot with large garage Vendor will with f Catt Murray at hour JOHNSON CARNEY fe REAL ESTATE MORTGAGES SELL THOSE UNUSED ITEMS QUICKLY WITH LOW COST CLASSIFIED ADS rati tafeti the yti of of el Tin Frit Pitts tot it Ml you I n Kim no now the time te ebOHl It Tn on thai page fcat liw at th of hums Out art Yea risen muff limit la Acton tad North be The rrtKfmt A It mat yon ton CALL 8532010 you have an Item around the house you want into cash write your ad In this form and mi Fits Bo 120 Astea Ml M tad raid to taker for wonts a wort additional word My ad reads 1I UNDER HEADING NO Well known environmentalist William Johnson disturbed about the powers the aggregate industry wields in Ontario and especially in the north of He is one of the founding people in the organization of the Foundation for Aggregate Studies and has taken a keen interest in problems relating to aggregates and garbage disposal in for many years lie was also the New Democratic Party candidate in Burlington riding in the last two elections This newspaper asked Mr Johnson to his concerns in an article to be published The opinions expressed are not those of this newspaper culture Energy and Transportation should have input into the Ministry or Environment channels when considering a pit licence LaodUte An Ontario Land Use Policy is essential Class I II III and VI should be protected from aggregate extraction Truupartatlon Rail and boat shipment should be en through full compensation to municipalities for road damage and com to local residents for decreased property values The producer must pay for the social and environmental costs caused by the impact of his operations on the community Energy policy should be considered in decisions to approve pit licences Licence fees for truck users should cover additional costs incurred for road maintenance and construction The Highway Act should be enforced and compensation made for injurious fee lion andnuisance Gravel trucks should be tarped at all times when carrying a load Road haulage should be phased down over a period of years in favor of rail and water haulage from remote sites A reduced licence and transport levy should apply to pits using rail or water transportation D The Ministry of the Environment should set standards conduct surveys and estimate costs of rehabilitation to be paid by the operator The per ton levy should be set at twice the rehabilitation cost estimated to guarantee performance and to cover in costs with rebates available to the operator upon complete satisfaction to the Ministry All abandoned pits should be rehabil itated in less than a ten year period and should bepaid for by theproducers Licence fees andor the per ton levy should pay for all costs direct and Indirect resulting from rehabilitation Including enforcement planning research and actual rehabilitation costs A portion of the per ton levy should be granted for municipal compensation to pay for social costs loss of property values noise disturbance and nuisance andor Injurious affection E WjiUjPUi Municipalities should be able to oper ate one or two wayside pits for local requirements providing thot strict stand ards are set for rehabilitation with public input into the decision making process regarding location and need F Socialism The community must be protected from the hardship and nuisance imposed by the Indus try Local autonomy and community rights must be protected The renewable land resource base must be conserved Rejection of a least cost philosophy as the only basis for decision making Damage to the social and natural environment must be minimized The industry must provide benefits to offset the social and dollar cost which it causes Preemptive land use for gravel is un necessary and unacceptable Policy initiative to phase ex traction in South Central Ontario and other densely populated areas of the Province must be formulated immediately The Aggregate industry has awesome powers within the Province of Ontario They can change the boundaries of the Niagara Escarpment they are granted powers recommended by the Working Party they will be a law unto themselves People in South Halton with few excep tions care little about what happens up hero in the North On this issue as in all issues we must be united in our common interests There must be a further study of Region alism There should be equal representation from the North This could be worked out by the accept ance of a formula giving representation by area and population Councils should Invite members of the Foundation for Aggregate Studies to their meetings and listen to them They have much to offer