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Manitoba government approves 55 quarry rehabilitation projects

The Manitoba government approved 55 projects valued at more than $5 million under the Quarry Rehabilitation on Private Land Program. The announcement was made by Agriculture and Resource Minister Blaine Pedersen.

“This year’s exclusive program offered an opportunity for landowners wishing to do rehabilitation work on private lands, to address environmental and public safety concerns with exhausted aggregate pits and quarries,” said Pedersen. “This program is helping grow our economy and put Manitobans back to work.”

Under the 2020 program, each landowner was eligible for up to $250,000 to rehabilitate depleted quarries and pits on private land. Eligible projects included private quarries that have been registered and have paid environmental levies on the property, and no rehabilitation must have been paid for the same work in the last 10 years.

“I’m very happy the province has relaunched the rehabilitation program this fall,” said Levi Wiens, owner, Elite Crushing. “The applications were quickly approved, so we were able to get back to work and clean up these private pits, so the land can again be used for agriculture.”

Pedersen said he is pleased with the efforts made to get this new quarry rehabilitation program running.

“I look forward to seeing more project results over the coming months for both landowners and operators.”

In 2018, the province paused the program to conduct a review after discovering financial irregularities. Both an internal audit and an audit by the Office of the Auditor General were conducted, which helped form the program, as well as further programming moving forward where an increased emphasis will be placed on the rehabilitation of abandoned pits and quarries on Crown lands.

Approved projects begin this fall and must be completed by March 31, 2021. For more information on the program, visit www.gov.mb.ca.