There is a significant oversupply of aggregates and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is failing to adequately inspect aggregate operations, reveals a fact sheet on the Auditor General’s Report on gravel mining in Ontario.

Data collected by the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition on the Management of Aggregate Resources 2023 Value-for-Money Audit released in December 2023 is being used to bolster the fight by local groups and individuals trying to stop a new gravel pit from opening on Little Lakes Road near Auburn in Huron County. 

Leading the charge against more gravel mining in the township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh are two women, who continue to collect data and ask local and provincial governments to assess the environmental impacts of allowing another gravel pit in the area.

Gina McDonnell has long lived on Cherrydale Road, in the midst of a winding path of gravel pits along the Maitland River on Sharpe’s Creek Road and elsewhere. Large maps reveal the extent of extraction in the area, with many of the pits digging below the water table.

A woman who walks trails daily with her dogs, who used to farm sheep, ran a riding stable and trained herding dogs, Gina is a country woman at heart after growing up in Toronto. She returned to Benmiller when she was 19, working with her mother Joanne Mazzoleni who, with her brother Peter Ivey, founded the Benmiller Inn. Gina and husband Bob currently live in her mother’s house near Benmiller and are building a new house close by.

“Ten years ago, I started noticing more and more gravel pits popping up on Sharpe’s Creek Line,” remembers Gina. She was living at Cherrydale Farm when, the neighbouring farm became a gravel pit, with Gina and other neighbours deciding to fight the application. They took a two-prong approach fighting the rezoning of the land at the municipal level and the application via the Ministry of Natural Resource and Forestry aggregate resources act (ARA). 

“It started as a group of neighbors and we got over 100 signatures on a petition,” remembers Gina. She pauses. “But it's really hard to fight gravel pits.” They did, however, get an amendment on the application that there would be no crushing and there would be the planting of a treeline.

With all the knowledge she gained, Gina started helping other landowners with their gravel pit concerns. She also started looking at the “bigger picture" and began to suspect that gravel pits are a real threat to the ecological soundness of the area, especially to the forest, Maitland River, and underground aquifers. “What are the cumulative impacts? What does it mean when so many gravel pits are next to each other, one after the other?” she asks.

Gina also wondered who was monitoring all these gravel pits and the fact that so many were strung together. She began approaching ACW council asking questions about the effect of below-water pits on the water table. Also, as the ponds formed from below-water mining get backed by the sun. Could this warm water potentially warm the groundwater? She also began advocating for the need to rehabilitate exhausted pits and to investigate health concerns from the dust created from crushing. “Does that dust contain particulates that are harmful to our lungs?” she wondered.

Also, as more and more gravel is extracted, how does that impact the ground’s ability to filter run-off from neighbouring farm fields?

She has so many questions and isn’t convinced municipal or provincial regulators or leaders have the answers. Gina believes local councils need to do more to protect themselves and the areas.  Specifically, she has asked ACW council to introduce an Interim Control Bylaw to halt rezoning applications for aggregate for a period of time so provisions can be created in the official plan to protect farmland and landowners.

“I don’t want to ban gravel pits. I just think we need more control and more legislation over what happens in our own area,” she said. Moreover, she wanted existing pits that are exhausted to be rehabilitated before new aggregate licenses are issued.

Gina is not affiliated with any current organization but supports “the underdogs'' with the knowledge and experience she has concerning gravel pits and aggregate applications. She is, however, concerned about the new aggregate licence request by Lobo Sand and Gravel to expand the Fisher gravel pit off Londesboro Road into a property on Little Lakes Road which is very near Ball’s Bridge. 

“Ball’s Bridge is close to all our hearts and if they move into it, they will destroy a wetland where there is tons of wildlife,” said Gina.

Rebecca Garrett completely agrees. She is the face and leader behind Friends of Ball’s Bridge and Little Lakes Road. Formerly known as Friends of Ball’s Bridge, the group was instrumental in saving the historic bridge and raising funds to keep it repaired. When the group learned of the proposal to have an open pit on Little Lakes road, they mobilized forces again, added Little Lakes to the name and began what Rebecca describes as a “huge learning curve.”

“I didn’t know anything about gravel when this started,” says the visual, video and community-based artist who lives in her mother’s former home on Little Lakes road. “We believe people who come to Ball’s Bridge enjoy it for its pristine, natural beauty and the quietness of the rural area,” explained Rebecca. “All of the things that draw people here would be ruined by the presence of a gravel pit.”

With 4,000 signatures on a petition to denounce the gravel pit, the group is currently in limbo as the case sits before the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).

The group had originally tried to respond to the application made by Lobo to rezone the property at the municipal level. The land is currently zoned natural heritage and agriculture and an application was made for a rezoning to allow aggregate extraction. To open a gravel pit, owners must also apply for an aggregate licence which is granted by the MNRF.

Rebecca said the Little Lakes group is asking to keep the land zoned for natural heritage and agriculture. However,  in a long timeline and confusion of meetings, dates, delays, lawyers and deferrals, the case ended up with the OLT. “That changed everything,” says Rebeccca. “ACW decided not to communicate with us anymore and haven’t spoken to us since. It’s been a year and half,” she said.

The Rural Voice contacted councillor Jennifer Miltenburg who stated that on municipal council, the mayor speaks for council. Several questions regarding gravel pits in general and specific ones regarding the proposed pit on Little Lakes Road were asked of Mayor Glen McNeil. He responded by saying “Thank you for reaching out to me. As this case is currently in litigation, it is inappropriate for me to comment at this time.Thank you for your understanding, Lisa.”

The Little Lakes group decided to continue fundraising, this time to pay for experts, lawyers and planners to represent them at the OLT. “We have incredible experts and a legal team who are working for peanuts because they believe in what we are doing,” said Rebecca. With a fundraising goal of $125,000, Rebecca hopes the amount is enough.

The latest development, according to Rebecca, is a delay in the ministry licence application because three Indigenous nations need to be consulted. Currently on hold, the group is asking for a consolidated hearing and for respect from the OLT of the consultation process with Indigenous nations.

Moreover, they are asking the province to declare a moratorium on all new aggregate licences until the recommendations in the auditor general’s report have been implemented.  Also, they want an  environmental assessment to be conducted on the Little Lakes property.

From Huron County council, the group is asking for a study on aggregate mining with inclusion of a map of all existing and proposed pits. “We would like a study of the cumulative impacts of these pits,” states Rebecca.

In terms of winning the battle, Rebecca says “We know the odds, but we feel very positive about our stand. When we made the decision to go to the OLT to fight for this, we all looked deep inside to see if it was really worth it. We all agreed it WAS worth it and at that point, you do it because it is the right thing to do. No matter what happens, we will have won in the sense of standing up for what is the right thing.”

Key Findings from the Auditor General’s Report on Gravel Mining in Ontario

~ Supplied by the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition

– The most recent study of aggregate supply and demand indicates a significant oversupply and suggests reserves in the greater Golden Horseshoe area are more than adequate to meet future demand.

– The rates of MNRF inspection are low, with 75 per cent of the office reviewed annually  inspecting less than five percent of the aggregate operations in their district. There is also a shortage of qualified aggregate inspectors.

– Violations are widespread in the aggregate industry with an estimated 48 to 64 per cent not compliant with regulations

– Of violations reported, less than one per cent were referred for further investigation

– There is no guarantee of rehabilitation of pits and quarries

The full report can be viewed at the following website: https://www. auditor.on.ca /en/content/ annual reports /arreports/ en23/ AR_mgmtaggregates_en23.pdf ◊