Commentary
Inconsistencies
revealed in quarry approval process
A
proposal by Bilcon of Nova Scotia to establish a basalt quarry and
mine terminal at Whites Point on the Bay of Fundy in Digby County
has been rejected by the provincial environment minister. Mark Parent
said his decision was based on the findings of a federal-provincial
environmental assessment review panel which not only excoriated every
aspect of the project, its recommendations went far beyond the panel’s
mandate and into the area of public policy by suggesting the province
impose a moratorium on all coastal quarry applications until new guidelines
are developed and legislated.
In 2002, Bilcon, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of New Jersey-based Clayton Concrete, Block and Sand, began the approval
process to develop a property it owns on the western side of Digby
Neck into a 2 million tonnes/y processing operation. The proposal
called for an initial capital investment of $40.6 million to construct
and install the necessary processing and shiploading facilities for
the weekly shipment of 40 000 tonnes of washed aggregate to Clayton’s
ready-mix plants. When in full production, Bilcon estimated the Whites
Point quarry’s annual operating budget would have been in excess
of $20 million during its estimated 50-year lifespan. The operation
would also have created 34 full-time positions in the surrounding
communities of rural western Nova Scotia.
The company drew up its plans for the Whites
Point project based on proven drilling and blasting methods, state-of-the-art
aggregate processing technology and the latest quarry management practices
that place environmental protection and land reclamation among as
top priorities. Numerous marine quarries have been successfully operating
on both coasts of Canada for decades without incurring any of the
calamitous environmental effects citied by the three-member panel
as inevitable if the Whites Point operation was allowed to proceed.
Among the panel’s reasons for rejecting Bilcon’s proposal
were concerns it would “undermine and jeopardize the core values”
of local communities. The views of the 300 individuals from Digby
Neck who signed a petition supporting the quarry project obviously
weren’t seriously considered by the panel when it made that
judgement. Furthermore, the panel didn’t recommend any mitigating
circumstances under which the project might be allowed to proceed,
Environmental assessment review panels frequently hold the door open
for approval if its specific recommendations are implemented. This
panel not only closed and locked the door, it threw away the key.
The 17-volume, 3000-page Environmental Impact
Study prepared by Bilcon took nearly four years to complete and included
the results of some 20 independent consultants. Bilcon’s project
manager, Paul Buxton, expressed his disappointment in the decision.
“For over five-and-a-half years, this project has been put through
a remarkably unfair process in Nova Scotia,” he stated. “We
are disappointed for the people of Digby Neck and the promise that
this project held for the community.” Bilcon’s only recourse
is through the courts should the company decide to challenge the ruling.
Ironically, the day after minister Parent
rendered his decision, his federal counterpart, John Baird, announced
the approval of Continental Stone Ltd.’s Belleoram Marine Terminal
Project in Belle Bay on the south coast of Newfoundland. The terminal
will be used by bulk carriers for the shipment of 6 million tonnes/y
of crushed stone from the associated granite quarry development for
the next 50 years. The federal minister based his decision on the
recommendations of a comprehensive study that concluded the proposed
terminal is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental
effects.
Robert
L. Consedine, Editor
Aggregates
and Roadbuilding Magazine
4999 St
Catherine Street West. Suite 315
Westmount, Quebec H3Z 1T3
Tel: (514) 487-9868 - Fax: (514) 487-9276
E-Mail: rocktoroad@sympatico.ca
