PERL, CORE and Burlington City Council call on Ford to deny expansion of Nelson Aggregates quarry

Mount Nemo plateau, located within the Greenbelt, is a uniquely important part of the Niagara Escarpment and a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve that has been shown to be ecologically significant.

Mount Nemo Credit: Memories of Mount Nemo, On. Facebook

In May, I got an email from Sarah Harmer – a member of Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL) – saying she wanted to share some good news.

It seems PERL and Conserving Our Rural Ecosystems (CORE) Burlington – two volunteer community groups – had compelled the City of Burlington to join them in appealing to Premier Ford and Milton MPP-elect Hamid to stop the Nelson open-pit mega-quarry expansion.

On May 21, 2024, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and council unanimously voted for a Resolution to the Province Ontario: Request to Deny Nelson Aggregates’ Expansion into Mount Nemo. The resolution asks Ford and Hamid to not only deny the expansion application by Nelson Aggregates, but to apply proper Niagara Escarpment designations to Mount Nemo lands. It makes for a compelling and worthwhile read.

“Mount Nemo is a gem in Burlington, as part of the Greenbelt, and something we want to see protected and preserved for future generations. There are major environmental concerns from a potential expansion of the nearby quarry that threaten the ecosystem of the area. We hope with the collective voices of our local governments and community advocacy groups and organizations, the Province will hear our call to not allow any quarry expansion. We also thank the many years of advocacy and research by residents on this issue,” Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward shared via email.

The Niagara Escarpment Commission recommended establishing long-term protection through the re-designation of the Mount Nemo plateau to Escarpment Natural and Escarpment Protection back in 2016.

The recommendations came after the 2012 decision of the Consolidated Hearing Board which denied Nelson Aggregates’ application to re-designate its Niagara Escarpment property to ‘Escarpment Extraction.’

The board cited two key changes impacting the proposed extension with the first being the 2007 designation by the Ministry of Natural Resources of wetlands within the proposed extraction footprint of the extension as Provincially Significant Wetlands.

The second key change was the re-designation of the Jefferson Salamander from being a ‘threatened’ species to being ‘endangered’ – the highest risk status for species in Ontario.

That is significant because there are two known Jefferson salamander breeding ponds adjacent to the Nelson quarry lands.

That original quarry application filed in 2004, and denied in 2012, was opposed by PERL, the City of Burlington, Halton Region, Conservation Halton and the Niagara Escarpment Commission.  

However, in 2019, Nelson Aggregates submitted an application for two new licenses to expand their extraction areas to the south and west of its current 218.5 hectare/540 acre open-pit quarry lands on Burlington’s Mount Nemo plateau.

“It is a complete waste of taxpayer funds to be re-considering this application when it was denied in 2012”, said Gord Pinard, president of CORE. 

“We are reassured by Mr. Hamid’s previous vote as Halton Regional Councillor to oppose this quarry proposal. When we met in April, he gave us his personal assurance that he would fight to protect Burlington’s vulnerable escarpment and help stop the quarry.”

The total size of the new mines would be 18 per cent larger — 50.2 hectares/124 acres — than the land grab denied by the Joint Board in 2012. To date, Nelson Aggregates’ mega-quarry has destroyed over 202.3 hectares/500 acres of irreplaceable Niagara Escarpment in Burlington.

“We are very happy to see the Mayor and Council unanimously pick up the torch from previous councils and staff, and work to secure the proper protections for the Mount Nemo plateau within Niagara Escarpment Plan. Niagara Escarpment Commission recommended these changes to the Province during the last review in 2016," stated Roger Goulet, director of PERL.

Generally, 165 million metric tonnes of aggregate are produced each year in Ontario. But under the Ford government, gravel mining has become a free for all with authorized annual extraction limits of over 13 times that amount. Meanwhile, Ford continues issuing new licenses that consume approximately 2,023 hectares/5,000 acres of land annually.

Ontario provincial policy around land use management states, “There’s no need to show need for a new pit or quarry. As much gravel shall be made available as possible and no discussion of whether it’s needed or not shall be allowed.”

The industry is also licensed to take up to 4.6 billion litres of water daily for extraction processes.

In December 2023, the Ontario Auditor General report stated the industry is not managed adequately and that Ontarians can expect violations that will likely to be unpublished by the Ford government.

That means that while we are in the middle of a climate crisis and water, in some communities, is under threat from drought and corporate extraction for gravel mining as well as bottling, the Ford government is not enforcing established aggregate regulations that reflect sound ecological practices.

Gravel mining increases truck traffic on local roads, affects air quality, generates noise, poses threats to groundwater and causes vibrations that damage homes. Yet, single-family homeowners often pay more in property taxes than a 40.5 hectares/100 acre commercial gravel mine.

It’s important to note that, even if the license is granted and Nelson Aggregates gets the go ahead to mine two million tonnes of gravel per year, they have stated they will only extract half of the licensed rate.

In fact, the Mount Nemo quarry appears to have operated below the licensed rate for years, apparently to focus on their ‘accessory use’ permissions to process waste concrete and waste asphalt.

PERL believes that Nelson Aggregates are importing crushed aggregates from other quarries for resale while operating as a landfill for excess construction waste soils as stated during their delegation before Burlington City Council September 18, 2023.

Given the fact that there is no shortage of gravel in Ontario and that the Mount Nemo plateau is not only a unique and important part of the Niagara Escarpment that’s located within the Greenbelt, it is also a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve that has been shown to be ecologically, culturally, and geologically significant. That’s why it makes absolutely no sense to expand Nelson Aggregates existing quarry.

Unfortunately, Ontario is being run like an authoritarian libertarian police state that puts profit above everything else. So, Small Change readers, make your voices heard! Save Mount Nemo! Save the Jefferson salamander! And, ensure all levels of government in this province create policies and plans today that will benefit the seven generations to follow!

Start by signing CORE’s petition so Ford and key MPPs know how important it is to STOP this Nelson application and establish long-term protection so this fight never has to be fought again.

And, then sign the DAMN Petition! to Demand A Moratorium Now (DAMN) on licensing of new gravel mines, as well as expansions of existing mines, across the entire province. Learn more about the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition here.

Because, “If they blow a hole in our backbone, the one that runs across the muscles of the land, we might get a load of stones for the road, but I don’t know how much longer we can stand.”  – Sarah Harmer, Escarpment Blues from the I am a Mountain album (2005).

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