Duntroon Quarry Expansion Approved with Strings Attached

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News ReleaseDuntroon Quarry Expansion Approved with Strings Attached

June 18, 2012

THOROLD – The Consolidated Hearings Board has approved Walker Aggregates’ application to expand its Duntroon Quarry, but has ordered some changes to the proposal the company had submitted. In a report, released today, the board said a number of points “significantly influenced” its decision. These included the fact that the proposal represents a continuation of a long established land use in the area with no significant negative impacts to surrounding uses, and that the expansion proposal has been studied for more than nine years.

The board’s written decision is a 263-page document and in its conclusion begins, “The Joint Board after considering all of the evidence is satisfied that the approval of the proponent’s proposal as set out and modified by this Decision is in the public interest and represents good planning that should be approved, subject to the directions and modifications set out in this Decision.”

The modifications include a reduction in operating hours. Walker had asked to ship aggregate from 5 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday. The board ruled that shipping hours would be from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with no shipping on Saturday.

The board also directed that buffers be increased around the Rob Roy wetland to 120 metres from the 30 metres that Walker had proposed, and around the main colony of American Hart’s Tongue Fern on the property to 100 metres from the 50 metres recommended by the company.

“This is very good news for our employees and their families,” says Walker vice-president Ken Lucyshyn. “The hearing and the many years of work leading up to it represented a very long and exhausting process for everyone involved – especially our employees who had to live with the uncertainty of whether they would be able to keep their jobs. We are also pleased to be able to continue to be a part of the community in Clearview Township, and we’ll continue to be a good neighbour to those who live and work nearby.”

Lucyshyn adds that while he is gratified with the decision to be able to proceed with the quarry expansion, “We will need to review the decision in detail to better understand the implications on our business.”

The hearing lasted 139 days over a 13-month period and ended on June 1, 2011, with final arguments submitted by the lawyers for the parties at the end of July.

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For more information contact Tricia Hellingman, Communications Consultant, 905-527-2985 ext. 12

thellingman@hellingman.com