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Duntroon Quarry Expansion Approved with Strings Attached

June 19, 2012  By  Andrew Macklin


June 19, 2012, Thorold, ON – The Consolidated
Hearings Board has approved Walker Aggregates’ application to expand its
Duntroon Quarry, but has ordered some changes to the proposal the company had
submitted. In a report, released today, the board said a number of points
“significantly influenced” its decision.

June 19, 2012, Thorold, ON – The Consolidated
Hearings Board has approved Walker Aggregates’ application to expand its
Duntroon Quarry, but has ordered some changes to the proposal the company had
submitted. In a report, released today, the board said a number of points
“significantly influenced” its decision. These included the fact that the proposal
represents a continuation of a long established land use in the area with no
significant negative impacts to surrounding uses, and that the expansion
proposal has been studied for more than nine years.

The board’s written decision is a 263-page document
and in its conclusion begins, “The Joint Board after considering all of the
evidence is satisfied that the approval of the proponent’s proposal as set out
and modified by this Decision is in the public interest and represents good
planning that should be approved, subject to the directions and modifications
set out in this Decision.”

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The modifications include a reduction in operating
hours. Walker had asked to ship aggregate from 5 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday to
Friday and from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday. The board ruled that shipping
hours would be from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with no shipping
on Saturday.

The board also directed that buffers be increased
around the Rob Roy wetland to 120 metres from the 30 metres that Walker had proposed,
and around the main colony of American Hart’s Tongue Fern on the property to
100 metres from the 50 metres recommended by the company.

“This is very good news for our employees and their
families,” says Walker vice-president Ken Lucyshyn. “The hearing and the many
years of work leading up to it represented a very long and exhausting process
for everyone involved – especially our employees who had to live with the
uncertainty of whether they would be able to keep their jobs. We are also
pleased to be able to continue to be a part of the community in Clearview
Township, and we’ll continue to be a good neighbour to those who live and work
nearby.”

Lucyshyn adds that while he is gratified with the
decision to be able to proceed with the quarry expansion, “We will need to
review the decision in detail to better understand the implications on our
business.”

The hearing lasted 139 days over a 13-month period
and ended on June 1, 2011, with final arguments submitted by the lawyers for
the parties at the end of July.


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