Reid Road Reservoir Quarry Environmental Assessment

The Reid Road Reservoir Quarry (RRRQ) is designated by Ontario Regulation 539/21 under the Environmental Assessment Act. Section 8 of Regulation 539/21 requires that the proponent assess "alternative design methods for carrying out the project, including alternatives to underwater blasting". The intent is that the Environmental Assessment will comparatively demonstrate which design method will result in the least impact. The alternative to underwater blasting is dewatering. The ARA process assumed underwater blasting as less impactful than dewatering, but the Environmental Assessment must demonstrate this to be the case.

The Reid Road Reservoir Quarry (RRRQ) is designated by Ontario Regulation 539/21 under the Environmental Assessment Act. Section 8 of Regulation 539/21 requires that the proponent assess "alternative haul routes". The intent is that the Environmental Assessment will comparatively demonstrate which haul route will result in the least impact. The proponent is not proposing a secondary haul route. Rather, the proponent is required to assess an alternative haul route, in addition to the one proposed through the ARA process, to demonstrate which of the two haul route options is the least impactful. Only one haul route will be utilized.

The Reid Road Reservoir Quarry (RRRQ) is designated by Ontario Regulation 539/21 under the Environmental Assessment Act. The regulation was developed to provide a project-specific environmental assessment process for the project, which will provide additional opportunities for public consultation and studies, including studies not required as part of the application process under the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA), while recognizing the work that has been completed to date pursuant to the ARA application process. Studies prepared as part of the ARA process can be incorporated into the Environmental Assessment. Of course, updates will be made to ensure assessment of alternative methods and alternative haul routes occurs, and to ensure that studies are up to date. Specifics of how studies will be undertaken will be the focus of Public Information Meeting #2 - Draft Environmental Assessment Work Plan. The work plan will include information on how all studies will be prepared, and how criteria and indicators will be evaluated. The draft work plan will be posted to the website in advance of the meeting.

The Reid Road Reservoir Quarry (RRRQ) is a source of high-quality dolostone from the Amabel formation - a provincially significant aggregate resource. The Amabel formation from Milton produces some of the highest quality concrete stone in Ontario. Concrete made from the Amabel formation performs superbly and has been used in notable structures such as the CN Tower. Unfortunately, the availability of Amabel is decreasing as the active quarries supplying this type of aggregate are nearing depletion. Milton has seen a 90% drop in Amabel production over the past 15 years. Why should this be important to you? Your tax dollars are spent building the infrastructure that we rely on every day - roads, bridges, subways, water treatment plants, hospitals, schools, etc. Billions of dollars are spent on infrastructure projects that if poorer-performing concrete is used, will need to be replaced prematurely. Structures built from high-quality aggregates will provide service for a much longer period. Using high-quality stone is good insurance for our tax dollars. Sourcing high-quality Amabel from RRRQ will help Ontario build high-quality, long-lasting infrastructure. Providing a high-quality source of aggregate close-to-market will reduce both the carbon footprint and costs associated with transporting the product from further away. In addition, producing high-quality aggregates in the first place promotes aggregate conservation as infrastructure will endure longer, and less material will be required to support premature replacement.

James Dick Construction Limited purchased the Reid Road Reservoir property in 2015 and has undertaken extensive studies and evaluations of the site since that time, to understand and characterize the existing conditions of the property, including surface water, groundwater, and natural heritage features. The Aggregate Resources Act Application was submitted in 2018. The purpose of the Licence application was to reinstate a previous Aggregate Resources Act Licence on the property, but for a smaller footprint and to permit quarrying in addition to sand and gravel extraction. The property is already zoned in the Town of Milton Zoning By-Law to permit a quarry, so a Zoning By-Law Amendment application was not required. A total of nine (9) technical reports and studies, in addition to, a detailed Site Plan were submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry as part of the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) Licence application. This Application Package was circulated to the Town of Milton, Region of Halton, Conservation Halton, and the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks for numerous rounds of review, comment, and updates. All studies submitted as part of the ARA application process, as well as the new Reports and Report Addendums, prepared through the Joint Agency Review Team (JART) process are available under the “Study Reports” tab on this website. Attached below is the RRRQ Project Summary provided at the Public Information Session on August 29th, 2018, as part of the Aggregate Resource Act (ARA) application process. This document provides a more in-depth summary of the RRRQ ARA Licence Application. This project has since been designated under the Environmental Assessment Act. This designation requires that a project-specific environmental assessment process be undertaken to provide additional opportunities for public consultation and studies, while recognizing the work that has been completed to date pursuant to the ARA application process.

The Clean Water Act, 2006 (Bill 43) is a major part of the Ontario government's commitment to ensuring that every Ontarian has access to safe drinking water. Many things in Ontario are identified as threats to drinking water. Septic systems, manure storage, and gas stations are all examples of things that are considered threats to drinking water, but quarrying is not an identified drinking water threat. The Source Water Protection Plan for Halton and Hamilton, the latest approved by the Ministry of the Environment in 2015, does not identify the area of the quarry as within the Well Head Protection Area (WHPA) for the Town of Milton. James Dick has a Well Complaint Protocol that guarantees the quarry will not impact the water supply of nearby water users. James Dick will immediately replace a water supply to a residence, farm, or industry in the event it is short on water. James Dick will then assess their cost with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) to determine the cause of the shortage. If the RRRQ is the cause, then James Dick will replace the water supply immediately at no cost to the landowner. In 54 years James Dick has never had to replace a water supply due to quarry interference; James Dick is confident that they will not have any impacts at this location either. The MECP has wide-ranging powers under the Ontario Water Resources Act and the Environmental Protection Act and that can issue orders and lay charges to protect well users in cases of interference. For more information, please see the 'Hydrogeological Assessment' completed as part of the ARA process under the REPORTS & DOCUMENTS tab.

Locating pits and quarries as close to markets as possible minimizes truck traffic and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The Haul Route for the proposed quarry is east on Reid Sideroad to Highway #401 using the Guelph Line interchange. The Haul Route is about 1.5km long and is the most direct route to access the 401. The Reid Sideroad was specifically built as an aggregate haul road in the late 1970s to haul aggregate material from the Reid Road Reservoir Quarry property (former Springbank Sand and Gravel Pit) to Highway #401. The Reid Sideroad is an existing truck route and is currently used as a truck by-pass around Campbellville for trucks traveling to and from the Campbellville Industrial Park located just south of the Reid Road Reservoir Quarry property. A Traffic Impact Study was completed for the proposed Reid Road Reservoir Quarry and determined that the additional truck traffic resulting from the Reid Road Reservoir Quarry can be sufficiently accommodated along the proposed haul route with no impacts on current or future traffic patterns. There is an Emergency Services and Fire Department Station located at 2665 Reid Side Road. As required by all motor vehicles in Ontario, any trucks traveling to and from the Reid Road Quarry will be required to yield to emergency services. There is an existing private driveway on the property that will provide access to the proposed licence area from Twiss Road. This driveway is approximately 1km long and is located entirely on property owned by James Dick Construction. No truck queuing will occur on Twiss Road; the site has a 700 metre long internal haul road that will contain all trucks waiting to be scaled in. Reid Side Road is posted as a no-stopping zone so trucks will never be allowed to park along Reid Side Road. Trucks arriving early will be sanctioned to prevent them from arriving early again. The truck volumes being proposed are quite modest as this quarry is much smaller than other quarries in Halton Region. To assist the public, as part of the Aggregate Resource Act (ARA) application process, James Dick edited together a brief video that simulates the quarry traffic with background traffic on a very busy day (see below). The video is 7.5 minutes long and if played 8 times in succession would simulate the peak hour of expected traffic, with background traffic 10 years from now as outlined in the Traffic Impact Report completed as part of the ARA process. It is not perfect but does present a helpful simulation of what peak traffic conditions would look like. A normal day would have significantly less traffic than the peak day depicted in the video. For more information, please see the 'Traffic Impact Report' completed as part of the ARA process under the REPORTS & DOCUMENTS tab.

There will be no conflict with truck traffic from the Reid Road Reservoir Quarry and the location of the emergency services center on Reid Side Road. Many such stations are located on roads far busier than Reid Sideroad. Signage and road markings will ensure that the entrances cannot be blocked and all traffic is required to yield to emergency vehicles.

Blasting in quarries must comply with a range of federal and provincial laws that regulate the noise and vibration produced during a blasting event. Every blast that takes place is closely monitored to ensure that these limits are followed. In Ontario, the three most relevant pieces of legislation are the Occupational Health and Safety Act, administered by the Ministry of Labour (MOL), Guideline NPC-119, administered by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks and the Environmental Protection Act, also administered by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. These guidelines have limits for the noise and vibration that is produced by blasting and are among the most stringent in North America. All blasting at RRRQ must meet MECP guidelines for noise and vibration at the closest receptors. Blasting is planned to occur about 20-30 times per year with each blast lasting about one second - that's less than one minute of blasting activity per year. Blasting events are carefully designed and calculated to only affect a very small localized area of rock within the quarry. Techniques such as drilling patterns, firing sequence, and the size of the charges are used to create controlled and localized blasts with minimal ground vibrations and overpressure. During blast events, seismographs are set up around the quarry to monitor vibrations and sound pressure that are caused by the blasts. Blasting at the quarry will not result in any structural damage to homes, wells, or off-site rock structures. There are numerous examples of quarries in Ontario that undertake blasting in relatively close proximity to residential uses. For more information, please see the 'Blasting Impact Assessment' completed as part of the ARA process under the REPORTS & DOCUMENTS tab.

Since dewatering is not occurring, and quarrying will occur underwater, far less dust will be associated with the operation when compared to a dry pit. Crushing damp material also generates greatly reduced and easily controlled levels of particulate. A Best Management Practices Plan for Dust was prepared for the Reid Road Reservoir Quarry as part of the ARA process, and the requirements of the dust management plan are included on the Site Plan. The measures of the Best Management Practices Plan for Dust, include: Water will be used as a dust suppressant in the processing area to control dust on processing equipment, stockpiles Stockpiles of finer-grained material will be shielded to provident wing erosion. The section of the internal driveway from the Twiss Road entrance to the processing plant shall be paved and have a posted speed limit of 20km/h. The paved driveway surfaces will be flushed with water as necessary to provide a clean entrance As required by the regulations of the Aggregate Resources Act all dust produced by the Reid Road Reservoir Quarry must be mitigated and controlled on-site. No dust is permitted to leave the Licenced area. For more information, please see the 'Best Management Practices Plan for Dust' completed as part of the ARA under the REPORTS & DOCUMENTS tab.

Sound level limits for noise generated from the proposed quarry are identified for the closest residential/sensitive receptors and are based on the noise guidelines set by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (Environmental Noise Guideline NPC 300). The proposed Reid Road Reservoir Quarry is located just south of Highway 401 and north of the Campbellville Industrial Park and CN Rail/Guelph Junction Rail line Junction. The highway, industrial park, and railway lines already generate a substantial amount of ongoing background noise in the area surrounding the proposed quarry. The proposed quarry site and the surrounding area are considered a ‘Class 1 Area’ under the Ontario Environmental Noise Guidelines NPC 300. The definition of a ‘Class 1 Area’ is “an area with an acoustical environment typical of a major population centre, where the background sound level is dominated by the activities of people, usually road traffic, often referred to as 'urban hum'." The Reid Road Quarry Noise Impact Study predicted noise impacts of the quarry operation based on a ‘worst-case scenario’ model. Using a ‘worst-case scenario’ model means that the noise impacts of the quarry were modeled using the assumption that the quarry is running at maximum capacity with all of the permitted equipment operating simultaneously. With noise barriers on the quarry property in place, the operation of the quarry will comply with the Sound Level Limits set by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) for a ‘Class 1 Area’. The location of the required noise barriers is identified on the Site Plan for the quarry. Compliance of the quarry operator with the Site Plan is enforced by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF). For more information, please see the 'Noise Impact Study' completed as part of the ARA process under the REPORTS & DOCUMENTS tab.

The Reid Road Quarry property was previously extracted from the mid-1960’s to the mid-2000s. The ponds that are located on the property are man-made and were created through previous below-the-water-table aggregate extraction activities. Only the area of the property that is currently zoned to permit extraction will be Licensed and operated as a new quarry. Over 45 field visits occurred on the Reid Road Reservoir property to document and characterize the environmental features located within the proposed Licence area and within 120m of the proposed Licence boundary. The proposed Licence and extraction area is located entirely within the area that was previously disturbed and is already zoned to permit extraction and does not include any significant wetlands or woodlands. The Natural Heritage features on the James Dick property, located outside of the proposed licence area, will not be disturbed and will continue to be protected in their current condition. The wetlands located adjacent to the proposed extraction area will be monitored throughout the life of the quarry operation to ensure that they are not being impacted. On a seasonal basis, the drawdown in the wetlands is not expected to exceed more than 30cm, which is similar to natural conditions. Many quarries in Ontario operate adjacent to significant natural heritage features, such as wetlands and woodlands, and wildlife habitat. A monitoring program has been included on the quarry Site Plan to ensure that water levels are maintained in the wetlands at baseline conditions. If required, water can be pumped from the existing man-made ponds to the wetlands to maintain water levels. This is a common practice used in many aggregate operations in Ontario. Through the proposed water mitigation plan, there will be no effects on wetlands or ponds during the quarry operation. There is no habitat for species at risk within the proposed Licensed area. Extensive salamander surveys and sampling was undertaken to confirm that there are no Jefferson Salamander present within the proposed Licence area or on the James Dick Construction property. For more information, please see the 'Natural Environment Technical Report' and 'Natural Environment Addendum' completed as part of the ARA process under the REPORTS & DOCUMENTS tab.