WINHARA ROAD NEIGHBOURS FEAR ‘SOIL-CLEANSING’ PIT PLANT PROPOSAL THREATENS WELLS
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
GRAVENHURST — An environmental revolt has gained Winhara Road residents two more weeks make comment to the Ministry of Environment on a “contaminated non-hazardous” soil cleansing and waste disposal site that would also store soil material on 12 acres in their neighbourhood.
Two dozen people who live at the north end along the busy side road — connecting Gravenhurst and Bracebridge parallel to Hwy. 11 — went to the town hall here this morning looking for answers.
They left empty-handed after staff informed them that the committee adjustment meeting they attended was the wrong venue to voice their opposition.
Mayor Heidi Lorenz told me this afternoon that the application by Terranevo Soil Resources LP was a provincial matter.
She said the late Alf Manarry’s pit — two kilometres south of the border with Bracebridge — is already zoned for aggregate and quarry use. But neighbours say it’s no longer operating.
However, neighbours have been told that if the proposal does get passed by the province, the municipality would have site plan controls regarding matters such as traffic and could still alter the plan.
Comments on the proposal were originally to be submitted by midnight tomorrow, March 16.
But neighbours say they were not unaware of that deadline.
A site visit there today by MuskokaTODAY.com shows piles of sand and/or gravel surrounding a large body of water.
Lance Loach, who lives in the basement half of the recently vacated house on the property, runs his asphault paving business out of the yard. He said he knew nothing of he proposal.
It is next to a Fowler Construction pit located behind it to the east. Fowler has another pit on Winhara at Barnes Road closed to downtown Gravenhurst. Coon Bros. also has a pit in the vicinity.
Several neighbours I spoke to this morning and afternoon said all they fear well contamination and traffic volume of up to 125 trucks per day at its phase 3 peak.
These kinds of plants are not unheard of in Ontario.
Terranevo says it is applying for an “environmental compliance” for a waste disposal site to store soil material, process soil material through a soil washing plant for blending with pit sands, and transfer of non-hazardous contaminated soil washing residue to approved soil treatment facilities.
The proposed soil management facility is located on an aggregate resources act licensed sand pit, it says. And “clean and non-hazardous contaminated soils will be received from construction projects within Ontario.”
It adds the receiving of soils and operation of the facility will be in accordance with the conditions and standards set-out in Ontario Regulation 406/19 “onsite and Excess Soil Management Regulation. Soil washing residual soils (clay/silt) materials will be transferred to licensed treatment, disposal sites or used as fill material if it meets Ministry standards for commercial/industrial land use.”
The daily maximum waste volumes for soils would be in three (3) phases:
- phase 1 allowing 600 tonnes per day maximum
- phase 2 allowing 1,200 tonnes per day maximum
- phase 3 allowing 1,800 tonnes per day maximum
Soil materials received at the facility will contain a coarse soils (sands, aggregate, stone to fine soils (clay, silts) of 80%:20% respectively. The fine soils typically contain the contaminates that are within a non-hazardous contaminated soil mixture.
Maximum soil storage volumes for clean soils will be as follows:
- 18,000 tonnes for phase 1
- 36,000 tonnes for phase 2 and phase 3
For non-hazardous contaminated soils, the maximum storage volume will be as follows:
- 4000 tonnes in phase 1
- 6000 tonnes in phase 2
- 8000 tonnes in phase 3
The property is at 1490 Winhara Road.
But neighbours say they weren’t aware of the proposal until this week when blasting prompted them to Google the address and then they became alarmed, said Valerie Loshaw who lives just 280 metres south.
The MOEE told them when they called the Barrie regional office that the notice of application was sent out to residents in January.
None of the dozen people we spoke to Friday said they had received it.
So the ministry has extended the deadline for comment until March 30.
Rick Appleton and his wife Susan Nudd bought the house and seven acres next door at 1480 Winhara last November. They spent $27,000 for a drilled well they fear could dry up or become contaminated. Not to speak of all the trucks rumbling in and out of the property feet from their house.
Loshaw hopes they can stop it, as she says a group in Scarborough did with another similar site.
The worker at Muskoka Home Building in west Gravenhurst understands the need for clean soil — especially since as of Jan. 1 this year she says landfills will no longer take contaminated soil.
Adding to the problem for them is blasting going on now, which neighbour Kurtis Duggan knows all too well. He and his wife Cora and young daughter live on the north side of the property at 1500 Winhara.
He told me that last week a foot-square piece of tire blasting cover material flew through trees into his yard and nearly hit his five-months pregnant wife in their driveway.
It apparently came from blasting for a Bestlife Homes housing project at the same address, he says.
Duggan, who owns The Cowboy’s Anvil Ltd. welding business (one of several welders along the strip) and five acres, said the blasting company also hasn’t been notifying neighbours of blasts with sirens before and after letting off dynamite charges.
He reported them to the Ministry of Labour after confronting the workers with the heavy fragment piece of flying rubber mat.
Tracey Prout who lives at 1473 Winhara — between her sister Tammy Steele and their mom Gwyneth Prout — is also worried.
They cited traffic concerns especially in summer and also flying debris from blasting.
“We have to get a permit to cut a tree and they’re clear-cutting,” said Gwyneth Prout.
“It’s not just Winhara’s problem, it’s Gravenhurst’s problem,” Tracey Prout said.
Appleton, a cottage contractor, wonders “what will be in the air.”
And what will happen to wildlife like the deer he saw last week in his backyard.
“We have no idea what will be stored there.”
Colleen Cox, a 28-year resident of the neighbourhood, lives up the road toward Bracebridge at 1599 Winhara. She and husband Mike run Cabinets Plus.
“We’ve bee here forever.”
She fears the intersection at Hwy. 118 could see more fatal accidents with more truck traffic.
“Have you ever tried to turn in toward Bracebridge or right out onto the highway?
“There’s not the infrastructure to support it.”
She’s also fearful for kids and those who cycle, walk or like her take their dogs for a stroll.
“I have to pick the right time to walk my dog.”
She’s seen the foot tracks of animals “running scared,” she says, because of the blasting.
“It’s not a proper spot (for the soil remediation). We need the support of the people in Gravenhurst, because we help them when they need it.”
Loss of property values was another of her concerns.
Susan Penwarden has started a Facebook page opposing the project called Stop the Contaminating Soil Coming to Muskoka.
Loshaw wonders what exactly the difference is between contaminated and non-hazardous materials.
But “I always have hope. We’ll fight till we can no longer fight.”
Many of the neighbours have comments in the few days they’s been aware and have even written Premier Doug Ford.
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