Bill 185, introduced to the Ontario legislature on April 10, 2024, along with the proposed Provincial Planning statement, erodes local democracy by making OTL a developers’ only tribunal, and handing the future planning of our communities over to the development sector and the non- elected. The public will have no say over projects that effect our lives and the environment such as harmful and unnecessary gravel pits and quarries. The OLT should also be held responsible for verifying the accuracy of the reports submitted.

In December, 2023, the Auditor General’s report stated that “The management of the aggregate resources is in crisis and the province is failing to protect the public from the negative impacts of gravel mining.”

Muskoka Lakes developed an Official plan that would protect the environment. That is being challenged by the Lippa Quarry owners and Miller Paving. If the OLT allows The Lippa Quarry to proceed it will have a devastating effect on our communities forever.

Lippa Quarry will be a MEGA quarry NOT a gravel pit
– it covers 130 acres, within the Skeleton Lake watershed
– Blasting, & drilling below the water table, crushing and hauling rock
– it will have an on-site screening plant which will produce toxic silicon dust which will escape into the air resulting in serious health effects
– it will use up to 250,000 litres of water a day drawn from local creeks to wash the extracted rocks, and this will be “kept contained behind dams”. When these dams break the run-off will reach Skeleton Lake via the many small streams. OOPS! Just doesn’t cut it!
– the holes blasted out will be filled with discarded material trucked in from the south.
– this work will continue 6 am to 9 pm, 7 days a week, for the next 80 years.
– they estimate that 10 huge trucks an hour will be leaving the pit and travelling east 21 km to Hwy 11 or west 34 km to Hwy 400 through Rosseau, returning with discarded material
– Muskoka Road is classed as a scenic east to west corridor with many curves and small hills, it is 3 .7 metres wide with sloping gravel shoulders, it was built over 20 swamps and wetlands. Trucks tend to travel on the centre line. The solid yellow line goes from Huntsville to Rosseau, except for two short stretches of dotted passing spots
– in the report, (drawn up by Skelton & Bromwell for Lippa) it states that the trucks could travel an average speed of 90-100km/hr. No mention that the current posted speed limit is 80km/hr with signs for 60/70km/hr around the many curves
– in their report, (actually they call it uninhabited) there is little mention of the many people who live along Muskoka Rd 3 trying to exit their driveways, the school busses picking up children, the garbage trucks, the cyclists who use the road from Rosseau to Huntsville, the pedestrians walking on the shoulders, the animals who live in the bush on either side of the road, the number of small creeks that go from the proposed quarry to Skeleton lake.
– there are at least seven sources of gravel around this area, no quarry needed.

Skeleton Lake is listed as an ANSI lake (Area of Natural Interest)
It is pre-glacial, formed by a meteor hundreds of thousands of years ago. It is the only lake in Muskoka which is mercury free. The force of the strong vibrations from the blasting of the granite will crack and shatter the protective shell of the lake and let the mercury from the earth’s crust leach back into the lake water.

If that doesn’t do it, the thousands of tons of material being removed from the area will probably cause a shifting of the plates underground. (An earthquake happened in Wappingers Falls, New York in June 1974. Cause was determined to be the removal of tons of rock from a quarry nearby).

Not to worry! If this quarry is approved, Muskoka Lakes will be compensated by $12,000 and the district by $3000. Sorry! Huntsville District, you get $0 and lots of trucks coming your way. But you do get to help pay for road repair that is inevitable, added to your taxes.

Muskoka depends on Tourism. If Skeleton Lake is polluted, so will the rest of the lakes from here to Georgian Bay. Let’s hope the OLT does not let the greed of a few people today affect the future and health of tomorrow!

Concerned property owners,

Ted & Irene Turner

November 12, 2023

To: Chair Lehman and District Councillors
District of Municipality of Muskoka
70 Pine Street
Bracebridge, ON P1L 1N3

RE: District Council Meeting, November 20, 2023
Agenda Item on Official Plan of the Township of Muskoka Lakes (TML)

Mr. Chair and District Councillors:

Being unable to delegate to the above meeting, I am herein submitting factual human health information that is highly relevant to the District’s consideration of the TML Official plan provisions for New Mineral Aggregate Operations.

Summary

Action proposed by the District to decrease to 500 metres the minimum distance from new mineral aggregate operations to waterfront shoreline areas, would seriously increase the risk posed by fine particulate matter (“dust”) from aggregate operations to human respiratory systems (lungs), particularly those of children.

Factual Considerations

1. The Source of the Problem

• Aggregate operations release large quantities of fine particulate matter (“dust”) into the air.
• Many of these particulates are of such a small size that they are difficult to capture, travel for long distances (100’s of kilometres) in the air, and penetrate deeply into the lungs.

2. Human Health Impacts

• Since about 1955, the evidence for serious human health impacts from fine particulates has grown steadily – each new study indicating that they are more serious than previously understood. Some of the world-leading work in this field was done here in Ontario.
• Health impacts of fine particulates include premature death, hospitalization, respiratory distress, heart attacks and other impacts that are key contributors to $ billions in health system costs each year in Ontario alone (ref. Ontario Medical Association, 2005).
• Children are more at risk from fine particulates due to their physiology, status of development and their likelihood of being outdoors and physically active for long hours, especially at a cottage during summer.
• The increase in childhood asthma is well known. Though the reasons for this are not well understood, air pollution, including particulates, likely plays a role.

3. Mitigation Possibilities

• Most fine particulate emissions from aggregate operations are in the form of “fugitive” emissions, which means that they cannot reasonably be expected to be collected. Such emissions would normally include those from blasting, crushing, materials processing, loading and trucking. They are thus difficult to treat in the way that emissions from a smokestack can be treated to remove particulates. Fugitive emissions can in some cases be reduced, for example by water sprays on crushers or road surfaces. However, performance limits on such efforts are extremely difficult to monitor and enforce. As a result, substantial fine particulate emissions are virtually inevitable from aggregate operations.
• The Province may apply point of impingement standards to determine if air quality standards are likely to be met at the quarry operation boundary. These however have a number of significant limitations and drawbacks.
• From the above considerations, the only practical way to greatly reduce the health impact of fugitive emissions is to locate the source at substantial distance from human populations, and most notably from children.

Relationship to Township of Muskoka Lakes Official Plan

• In consideration of the nature of fine particulate matter, there is likely no practical safe distance for a quarry operation from humans, notably children. However, a distance of 500 metres is, in my opinion, far too close to be considered as adequately protective of human health, particularly with respect to children. Permitting a new quarry is the occasion when it is possible to locate them as far away as reasonably possible from human habitation. (Existing quarries are not the subject of this letter)
• Other than provisions for locating a new quarry a minimum distance from waterfront areas, there are no provisions and wording in the Township of Muskoka Lakes Official Plan (nor the District of Muskoka Official Plan) that are adequately protective of human health from the effects of fine particulate matter.
• The only practical option for protecting human health from quarry dust is clear imperative direction such as, for example, “no facility [meeting this description] shall be located within 2000 metres of waterfront areas”.

Recommendation

In consideration of the human health impacts of fine particulate matter from mineral aggregate operations, particularly on children, I strongly recommend that the District Municipality of Muskoka does not in any way impede the Township of Muskoka Lakes from requiring as large a distance as possible between Waterfront Areas and new mineral aggregate operations. In no case should this distance be less than 2000 metres.

Postscript

I am aware of rationale that may be put forward alleging that recommendations such as the above are impractical. I do not believe this to be the case and am prepared to discuss this further if requested.

Respectfully submitted,

Geoff Ross

Qualifications:

MSc. Human Physiology (1976), University of Toronto, Faculty of Medial Sciences

Retired Professional Engineer, after a career primarily with Environment Canada, dealing with air pollution control, including:

• represented Environment Canada as an expert witness in provincial environmental assessment hearings;
• member of Canada-U.S. Air Quality Accord negotiating team;
• represented Canada on United Nations Task Force;

All of the above dealt with air emissions in the context of their associated health impacts

November 12, 2023

To Chair Lehman and Councillors, District of Muskoka Council

My name is Tom Newman, and I am sending this letter on behalf of my client, Ross Earl, a longtime resident of the Township of Muskoka Lakes (4232 Aspdin Road, Utterson, P0B1M0).

Mr. Earl is very concerned about proposed changes to the wording of a policy in Section K4 (Mineral Aggregates) of the draft Official Plan for the Township of Muskoka Lakes. The policy changes, proposed by District of Muskoka Staff, would remove the prohibition on the establishment of new aggregate operations within 2 km of the Waterfront Area. The current TML Official Plan includes a policy (Section E, Rural 14.2) stating that, “New rock crushing operations shall be limited to areas farther than two kilometres from the Waterfront designation.”, and this policy has been in effect for many years.

Mr. Earl owns Waterfront property on Lambert’s Lake, a small, pristine lake, close to his home, and since 2017 he has been fighting to stop the Lippa quarry application that would establish a new quarry less than 700 metres from the Lambert’s Lake, Waterfront Area. In a 2019 LPAT hearing, Mr. Earl used the existing 2-km policy as a key piece of evidence in his efforts to block the Lippa application. However, if the 2-km policy is modified, as proposed by District Staff, then it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for someone like Ross Earl to protect his waterfront property in this way. Mr. Earl is a retired school teacher, with a limited income, and he does not have the financial resources to hire the lawyers and consultants, who would be needed to contest an application, without this current policy.

At the TML Planning Committee Meeting on September 14, Mayor Kelley and the TML Councillors voted to reject modifications to the 2-km policy, as proposed by District Staff. Despite this fact, District of Muskoka Planning Staff continue to insist that the 2-km policy must be changed because it doesn’t comply with the the Provincial Policy Statement, citing policies in Section 2.5 (Mineral Aggregates), such as the following, “As much of the mineral aggregate resources as is realistically possible shall be made available as close to markets as possible.” However, these same Planners have chosen to ignore other policies in the PPS that support the inclusion of the 2-km policy in the new OP. For example, in Section 1.7 (Long Term Economic Prosperity), there is a policy stating that, “Longterm economic prosperity should be supported by … providing opportunities for sustainable tourism development.” In the Township of Muskoka Lakes, it could be argued that preventing aggregate operations within 2 km of Waterfront Areas is consistent with ‘providing opportunities for sustainable tourism development.’ Tourists don’t come to the Township of Muskoka Lakes to see the quarries and to hear the gravel trucks, rather, they come to experience the beautiful lakes and their watersheds.

Ross Earl and his wife, Sylvia, love living in the Township of Muskoka Lakes, and they are determined to do their part to protect Lambert’s Lake and the other Muskoka Lakes for future generations. Please support them by voting against proposed changes to Section K4 in the draft TML Official Plan that would weaken the existing policy that prohibits new aggregate operations within 2 km of Waterfront Areas.

Sincerely

Tom Newman (agent for Ross Earl)

The following letter was published here: https://www.muskokaregion.com/opinion-story/8124607-letter-residents-take-up-cause-to-stop-quarry-rosseau-area-project-again/

An application for a zone and official plan change was made to open a quarry on Muskoka Road 3 between Huntsville and Rosseau.

It was unanimously defeated by the Muskoka Lakes Council and their decision was also unanimously endorsed by the Huntsville Council.

Consequently, Frank Lippa has taken this decision to the Ontario Municipal Board in a bid to have it overturned.

His plan is to put a gravel pit and a rock quarry on Lots 3 and 4, Concession 4 in Cardwell Township.

The quarry is to be allowed to excavate below the water table and to “dewater” the pit into the creek and directly into Skeleton Lake at Long Point, just off MR3.

The quarry will operate 17 to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He will be crushing granite on the site and stockpiling it for truck removal daily.

This project, if successful, has many serious ramifications for local residents as well as the Muskoka area.

The estimate is for up to 100 truckloads per day going east toward Huntsville or west toward Rosseau. MR3 is the prime road for residents, businesses and school buses as well as for cottagers, tourists, cyclists and walkers with their pets.                                                                               

The quarry is only 1.7 kilometres from Skeleton Lake. The Official Plan for Ontario designates quarries to be close to major highways.  This quarry location is 21 kilometres from Highway 11 at Huntsville and 14 kilometres from Highway 141 at Rosseau, then 20 kilometres more to Highway 400 in Humphrey/Seguin, (a total of 34 kilometres as in Lippa’s report.

The provincial recommendation concerning crushing is that the crushing is to be over two kilometres from a designated shoreline. There are three lakes closer than two kilometres:
Skeleton 1.7 kilometres, Lamberts Lake 0 .8 kilometres and Mudd Lake 0.6 kilometres.

We will only live to regret treating our pristine area as if we were a Third World country. We will pay the cost to repair MR3. This, I believe, will leave the Muskoka taxpayer on the hook because it is a district road.                                         

It is now time for concerned citizens to show their support by attending the meeting at Port Carling on Feb. 21 at the municipal office at 10 a.m. Your appearance will help support those who are fighting to prevent this industrial development in tourist country and our homes.

If anyone would like to have more information or is willing to help with our cause please do not hesitate to call.

Ross Earl,

Bracebridge

John Earl,

Huntsville