8/3/2019 Water and the Melancthon Mega Quarry as Proposed by the Highland Companies

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Water and the Melancthon Mega Quarry as Proposed by TheHighland Companies It is recommended that you read The Highland Companies application yourself. However, for those who don’t have time to read the 3,100

page / 38 (.pdf) file report, some highlights are as follows: 

•  The Highland Companies plan to operate a 2, 316 acre quarryoperation consisting of 4 extraction areas and 1 CentralOperating Area

• Dependent on market conditions, the quarry will operate in 1 ormore of the extraction areas

•  The company expects to manage 600 million litres of waterevery day.

• Water needs to be managed, both on the surface and as the pitsare extracted.

• Water will be used to wash aggregate and trucks. Aggregatewashing water will be recycled. Truck washing water will bestored in settling ponds.

• Water will be used to suppress dust.

• Aggregate extraction areas need to be “de-watered” to keep thepit(s) dry for working.

• Water will run into the pit(s) as the company extracts down toaround 250 feet. Water will fall into the pits from normal rainand snow.

•  The water will collect in sumps in the bottom of the pits, similar

to how a sump-pump system in a house works• 16 large pumps will pump the water from the sumps and inject it

back into the ground at 50 meter intervals around the perimeterof the pit

• 79% of the water is expected to run back into the pit and cycle

• 21% of the water will flow into the watershed

•  There is a sophisticated network of monitoring wells planned tomaintain optimum water levels

•  The company says they are using proven technology as used atthe Holland Marsh and Milton quarry

•  The proposed quarry is located almost entirely (99%) within thewestern portion of the Pine River subwatershed. The largestimpact is expected on the Pine River.

•  There is no anticipated impact on the Grand River watershed orremaining Nottawasaga River sub-watersheds

•  There is no anticipated impact on the Saugeen or Grey Saublewatersheds

• Opponents point out that Melancthon is the headwaters for 5

8/3/2019 Water and the Melancthon Mega Quarry as Proposed by the Highland Companies

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rivers and the source of drinking water for one million people

•  The progressive rehabilitation plan is to revert the quarry floorback to agriculture

• “In conclusion, the design and operation of the proposed quarryand rehabilitated end use will have no adverse effects to the

quantity, quality, or function of the groundwater and surfacewater resources beyond the Proposed Licence Area”

 Here are some comments/questions from the lay-person who does alittle bit of research: 1.  What happens if the pumps fail?2.  If the water is cycling, then all the contaminants from heavy

equipment, explosives, dust and bird shit will accumulate in thewater. How good is that for drinking water? Fisheries? Lakes?

3.  How can Highland say that no rivers are impacted when

according to any map the Pine River head starts right in themiddle of the quarry site? In fact the south west corner of theCentral Operating Area is currently zoned Open SpaceConservation (OS2).

4.  Word has it that the water level of the Pine River will decrease by10% and the temperature will increase.

5.   The Pine River is a cold water fish habitat, which will benegatively affected by fluctuating water temperatures andpolluted water.

6.  What impact will the mega quarry have on the Grand Riverwatershed and Boyne River sub-watershed, which appear to touch

the quarry perimeter in the below map?7.  Explosives will fracture the rock possibly allowing water to run in

new directions. How can we be sure the other watersheds will notbe affected?

8.  Why should any company have control over such a large amountof Ontario’s water?

9.   The Nottawasaga River runs into the Georgian Bay, the Grandinto Lake Erie and the Saugeen into Lake Huron. What will be inthe impact on the Great Lakes?

10.  Trans-boundary water is a Federal Government responsibility.11. Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO) is a highly water-soluble

explosive, 5% of which is expected to end up in the air and water. The company plans on using up to 20 tonnes per day. That means1 tonne of ANFO per day may end up in the water. What will bethe impact to the health of people and wild life?

12.  The Holland Marsh is a downstream location with a minimal uphillpump load (8 feet?). Worse case scenario is that the land revertsto a marsh. Melancthon is a headwaters area with a 200+ feetpump load. Worse case scenario in Melancthon is that the hole

8/3/2019 Water and the Melancthon Mega Quarry as Proposed by the Highland Companies

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fills, covers the heavy equipment or whatever happens to be inthe pit, and totally contaminates the water table – drinking waterfor wild life and one million people downstream.

13. Word has it that the Milton quarry has one pump operating part-time –- not 16 pumps operating continuously. (There is a 165’

drop from the north west corner of the quarry area to the southeast, which means water will be running continuously.)14.  The application is for the largest quarry in Canada and potentially

the largest in North America. The site is proposed at the highestelevation in Ontario making it a headwaters area. How can thetouted technology be considered “proven” under such uniquecircumstances?

15. Rehabilitating the quarry floor back to agriculture requirescontinual de-watering. What can be grown that will warrant suchexpense? How can the mechanical aspects of pumping bemaintained “forever”?

 

“600 million litres of water per day – that’s equivalent to three minutesand 40 seconds of flow over Niagara Falls, or 75 million two-fours of beer”. Darren White, Deputy Mayor, Township of Melancthon 

* Notice that the above information has been gathered through private amateur research

 for the purpose of allowing the reader to make an informed and educated decision. However, while the information is believed to be reliable, accuracy cannot be

 guaranteed.

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References:

 

Holland Marsh [05_Hydrogeologic_and_Hydrologic_Assessment_- _Volume_1.pdf #5.1 pg 14]“No Adverse Affects” [05_Hydrogeologic_and_Hydrologic_Assessment_- _Volume_1.pdf #8 pg 24]

Watershed Map [05_Hydrogeologic_and_Hydrologic_Assessment_- _Volume_1.pdf pg 30] 

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