Residents hopeful Burlington will take a stand against quarry expansion

Residents fighting against the proposed quarry expansion in Burlington hope tonight’s (Sept. 18) public meeting will convince local politicians to officially oppose the plan.

The meeting, scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Burlington City Hall, is expected to hear from a large number of speakers, mostly those who don’t want Nelson Aggregate to expand their operation into the Niagara Escarpment, specifically along Mount Nemo.

So far the City of Burlington has not taken a stance on the matter and one group that has been opposed — CORE Burlington (Conserving Our Rural Ecosystem of Burlington) — believes a strong turnout tonight may prompt councillors into action.

Members of CORE point to the potential ecological damage that continuous mining will have on the environmentally sensitive site.

“Now is the time for us to show up in large numbers to demonstrate our strong opposition to Nelson’s mega-quarry application,” reads a statement from CORE sent to halton.insauga.com.

Those in favour of the expansion plan say the raw material produced by the quarry is needed to meet the building demands in the GTHA.

Nelson Aggregates has offered to donate the land at the end of the life of the quarry, which is proposed to be phased out in stages over 30 years. It has been suggested the rehabilitated quarry could be used as a large park.

The issue will go before the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) for a decision as Nelson claims that Burlington and Halton Region have taken too long to deal with the matter.

The City of Burlington says by appealing to the OLT, Nelson Aggregates has taken the decision-making process out of its hands. CORE, meanwhile, believes that if Burlington officially opposes the plan and fights against it at the OLT hearing it will send a strong message to decision-makers.

Halton Region has said it has concerns with the range of potential impacts of an expanded quarry on the community, the environment and the quality of life for residents directly affected by the proposed expansion.

The meeting can be viewed online at www.burlington.ca/calendar.