ROCKWOOD - A seven-year battle against the so-called Hidden Quarry just outside Rockwood is set to come to a head next month.
The provincial Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) has set aside eight weeks to hear submissions from the applicant, James Dick Construction, and a number of opponents, most notably the Concerned Residents Coalition (CRC), a local group representing roughly 1,300 area residents opposed to the quarry.
The hearing gets underway May 21 at the Guelph Eramosa Township offices.
"I recognize that we have a very compelling case. We believe that the science that applies to our concerns is sound," said CRC president Doug Tripp.
"We believe that there are significant risks. But the operative word in that is risk rather than certainty. It really comes down in many instances to just how much uncertainty is tolerable. And that's a judgement call.
"It's hard for us to say we have it in the bag. We don't have it in the bag. It's a bit of a crap shoot," Tripp said.
The citizen's group has seven expert witnesses ready to give testimony at the hearing.
Other opponents include Halton Region and the Town of Milton. The Grand River Conservation Authority and Wellington County are also represented at the hearing.
James Dick Construction wants to open a 61.5-acre gravel pit on land zoned agricultural located at Highway 7 and 6th Line Eramosa, just west of Rockwood. They would extract 700,000 tonnes of aggregate a year for roughly 17 years.
The list of concerns range from effect on the water table and wells, noise pollution, species at risk, traffic issues, potential flying debris from blasting, land values decreasing and in general a negative effect on neighbours' quality of life.
The CRC was formed seven years ago after the application for a rezoning of the land to permit a quarry at the site.
Tripp said to date the CRC has raised $700,000 to fight the application, mostly spent on studies and expert witnesses it will present at the hearing. He said they would need another $150,000 before it's all said and done.
"Bottom line for me is that I'm guardedly optimistic because we have some very strong arguments that are rooted in science. and we believe there is a need to be prudent about some of the uncertainties."
Earlier this month Guelph Eramosa Township reiterated its opposition to the gravel pit, but also reiterated it will not present witnesses or evidence at the LPAT hearing.
The township has stated it can't afford the fight and that peer reviews of studies commissioned by the applicant show no scientific reason to prevent the gravel pit from happening.
"We're very disappointed, but we're not surprised," Tripp said of the township's position.
They took the same position when the matter first went to the old Ontario Municipal Board three years ago, where the application was thrown out on a technical matter. The applicant then resubmitted its application.
"We're struck by the fact that Halton Region, which is not the host municipality, has built an extensive case built around five experts," Tripp said.
