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For Immediate Release

Attention: Municipal Politics, Environment, Green, AWARE Simcoe, Mega Quarry

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 mega-quarry proposal is of vital importance to Simcoe County residents, said


AWARE Simcoe chair Don Morgan. "The Nottawasaga watershed covers half of the
county and we need to be concerned about the mega-quarry’s effect on drinking
water, recreation and wildlife."

White will be joined for a panel discussion on water by:

-Beverley Else of Celebrate Lake Simcoe


-Dr. William Shotyk of the Elmvale Water Festival (tested the water at Site 41 as the
purest in the world)
-Councillor Jeff Monague of Beausoleil First Nation

The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m., the panel discussion will start at around 10:30

Key Points (water related)

• Melancthon is referred to as "The Headwaters Region " for a reason. It’s


where five major rivers - the Pine, Grand, Nottawasaga, Saugeen, Mad and
Noisy - have their beginnings. These important river systems flow outward
from Melancthon in all directions, feeding clean water to an estimated
1,000,000 Ontarians.

• In addition to the tremendous importance of its surface river and stream


resources, Melancthon sits firmly atop of the Amabel-Lockport-Guelph aquifer,
a significant water resource of the Greater Golden Horseshoe region. This
aquifer supplies some of the purest and cleanest water in this region of North
America. Directly adjacent to the Alliston aquifer, it is one of our highest
yielding and most productive aquifers.

• 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

Highland Companies statutory meeting epilogue http://www.youtube.com/watch?


v=t0y90KeFCUM a must listen

The Baupost Group, L.L.C. (Baupost) www.baupost.com/


Quick Links to groups opposed
• AWARE Simcoe

• Bridgekeepers

• CAUSE

• Coalition of Concerned Caledon Citizens

• CORE

• Council of Canadians

• Environmental Registry

• Facebook stop the quarry

• FORCE

• Gravel Watch

• M(C2)

• Melancthonvision

• NDACT

• Ontario Farmland Preservation

• Ontario Federation of Agriculture

• PERL

• Site 41

• Wellington Water Watchers


Contact

Deputy Mayor Darren White t 519 923 2829


AWARE Simcoe chair Don Morgan t 705-526-9883 or 416-413-0265
Jonathon Shore (media) t 705-812-0643
http://www.aware-simcoe.ca
http://twitter.com/AWARE_Simcoe
AWARE Simcoe works for government transparency & accountability, the protection
of water, our environment & health

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