Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
SIMCOE COUNTY, ON
MAY 18, 2011
SOURCE- AWARE SIMCOE
Mega-quarry battle comes to Simcoe County
“We have to start moving away from policies of consumption”
Melancthon Deputy Mayor Darren White is one of the featured panelists at the
AWARE Simcoe Annual General Meeting, to be held on the morning of Saturday, May
28 at the Big Bay Point Golf and Country Club, 3912 30th Sd/Rd & Big Bay Point
Road in Innisfil Ontario.
White has been in the forefront of his agricultural community’s battle against the
mega-quarry, a battle that pits farmers and environmentalists against The Highland
Companies, owned by The Baupost Group, L.L.C. (Baupost) a hedge fund in Boston.
Water, the topic of AWARE Simcoe’s May 28 meeting, is a key concern for opponents
of the mega-quarry, which is proposed to extend over 2,400 acres and reach down
236 feet. The plan is for 16 pumps to run 24/7 in perpetuity to "manage" 600 million
litres of water a day (the amount to be pumped is equivalent to what is used by a
quarter of the province’s population in a day).
White is concerned that the approvals process does not safeguard the water - an
issue that affects an estimated million people whose drinking water comes from the
affected rivers and aquifers.
"Unfortunately the Ontario Government has allowed the aggregate industry to police
itself, and we are dealing with ever larger proposals for aggregate extraction in the
face of uncontrolled growth," White said.
"Aggregate extraction has been afforded a prime position in government policy when
our focus should be on clean water, locally grown food and sustainable growth. We
have to start moving away from policies of consumption and embrace policies of
conservation."
The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m., the panel discussion will start at around 10:30
• The Geological Survey of Canada considers the Southern Ontario basin region
and in particular the Niagara Escarpment region significant for the buried
valleys found within. These buried valleys have been exploited for
groundwater since the 1800s as they are known to host high yield aquifers.
-----30 ----
Research
High Stakes in the High County Tim Shuff September 2009 a must read
• Bridgekeepers
• CAUSE
• CORE
• Council of Canadians
• Environmental Registry
• FORCE
• Gravel Watch
• M(C2)
• Melancthonvision
• NDACT
• PERL
• Site 41