Though generally not opposed to the proposal, residents here have a few concerns about a gravel pit plan for near Palmerston.
Last week, Minto council held a public meeting to consider an application to allow a gravel pit at Lot 22, Concession 2, former Township of Minto. The area encompasses about 30 acres.
The change would rezone the lands from agricultural to extractive industrial.
Planner Mark Van Patter said he had yet to make a site visit due to deep snow. “I would recommend that council not make a decision until the required traffic analysis has been completed.
“About the only concern I have with the proposal, and they are probably minor concerns that can be addressed, are that the existing trees and the Palmerston trail are not compromised,” he said.
Cox Construction operated a wayside pit on the property in 2007 and determined there is sufficient aggregate on the property to warrant a commercial pit licence. The company estimate is the property contains between 700,000 and 1,000,000 tonnes of sand and gravel reserves.
The proponents have applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources to extract up to 150,000 tonnes per year. However, they anticipate yearly extraction to be closer to 40,000 tonnes – depending on market conditions.
“The pit is to stay 1.5 metres above the water table. The area proposed for the pit license is 30.15 acres and the proposed extraction area is 22.98 acres.
Extraction will remove a large hill with steep slopes. Rehabilitation will turn the land back to agriculture
The haul route is anticipated to be generally on the Third Line, then north on County Road 5. The Palmerston hiking trail runs along the eastern boundary of the pit property.
“The amount of truck traffic will reflect the amount of extraction that actually occurs. Given the small pit size, I would anticipate traffic to be fairly low for most of the pit’s life, except when supplying for a larger road job,” Van Patter said.
Rick Dale, of Wellington County engineer’s office, requires a traffic impact analysis such as: haul route, intersections, accident history, school bus signs, truck entrance, and need for an entrance light.
Van Patter noted in order to reduce trucking costs and environmental impacts, it is quite important that pits are in close proximity to markets. The pit is quite close to Palmerston, which could well experience growth over the comings years given TG Minto, the industrial park and the expansion of the residential area.
Consultant Rob Stoval said basically it is a small pit and is only a portion of the overall farm. Stoval said even though the pit operations include Saturdays, he believes that would be rare. He said the site would be progressively rehabilitated back to agricultural use.
Work is still being done on traffic studies.
Van Patter said the soil quality is quite poor and this might actually improve it.
Landowner Darryl Lee said he did not have a problem with the pit, as such, but he has a few concerns. One is the lack of fencing for safety.
Lee added the walking trail is adjacent to the proposed pit, but there are also kids camping in the bush. From his point, no one seems concerns with the back of the property, but he felt all of it should be fenced.
Stoval said according to the Aggregate Resources Act, all the property requires fencing, and his recommendation is to do so as well for insurance and liability. He pointed out that the trail owns the land where the woodlot exists.
Lee’s concern was simply about the close proximity to the walking trail.
Tony Galvao, representing the Palmerston trail, whether a noise study was done, because the trail is recreational.
Stoval anticipated no impacts to the trail users. He said the planning involved setbacks to deal with potential noise issues for nearby home owners.
He said rehabilitation of the site is a requirement under the site license.
Council cannot consider the third reading for the bylaw until the County of Wellington considers and passes the amendment for the official plan to permit the pit.
