Neighbours in Ontario’s Brock Township fight aggregate pit expansion
Global News
'It's impossible to think about, actually,' said a resident who started a petition against the possibility of development that 'would be absolutely destroying our way of life.'
A proposal to expand an aggregate extraction pit in a rural part of Ontario’s Brock Township is facing opposition from neighbours who say it could negatively impact nearby sensitive wetlands and wells used for drinking water.
“Even in the winter, it’s gorgeous. The snow on it — the rolling hills,” said Kaik Barucha, speaking with his partner, Jan Mears, as they looked out at the farmer’s field across from their home in the countryside of Sunderland, Ont.
“The reason we all live here is for some peace and quiet,” he told Global News.
The future of that land, however, is uncertain.
The company Canada Building Materials (CBM) wants to use the site to expand the aggregate extraction operations from a now-dormant site down the road.
That would require changing the current municipal zoning from “RU” (rural) to “M4” to allow aggregate extraction, not far from environmentally-protected areas.
“This whole area here is a watershed for the Beaver River,” which flows into Lake Simcoe, Mears explained. “So we are responsible for looking after that land, the wetlands particularly.”
The couple and their neighbour, Peter Renz, said they and others in the area are also worried about the impact to wells used for drinking water.