BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

What could possibly threaten the peaceful idyll of a quiet county lane? A quarry, according to 130 petitioners in Newport Station.

A basalt pit development has been approved at the southern tip of Stark Rd., a narrow street lined with mature trees, 30 homes and near the edge of several large holdings and marshland.

All residents knew of the proposed quarry appeared on their doorsteps last June. A project overview was dropped off at homes by Spence Agraland Limited in compliance with a provincial application approval process to hold public information sessions.

Residents claim no invitation to a public meeting was forthcoming and by the time word had spread, those affected were informed through correspondence with the provincial government that the application had been approved.

“They were required to have public consultation, but all they did was drop this off on doorsteps,” said neighbourhood spokesperson Ron Anderson. “They never responded to our correspondence.”

A letter from Environment Minister Mark Parent dated Nov. 19 said, “the quarry owner did, however, conduct limited public consultation to support their application for industrial approval.”

“I don’t know what ‘limited’ means,” Anderson said, but Parent’s letter confirmed their worst fears.

However, Stark Rd. residents rallied together in hopes of quashing the proposal. “About 20 of us got together as a group,” Anderson said. “We thought at that time we could still shut this beast down, but we were too late.

“We’ve tried to contact Spence Agraland for months, but never received a reply,” he said. Anderson said he has spoken on at least one occasion with project manager Janice Ray, but received nothing further regarding public consultation.

Now the residents are fighting to save their road and their way of life. A recent press release composed by the Stark Rd. Action Group headed by Anderson, David Porter and Harold Riley outlined concerns around safety, water quality and community character.

Stark Rd. is very narrow, 19 feet wide at most points, with deep ditches and almost no shoulder. Because of this, residents fear hauling trucks will pose a risk to drivers and walkers to the point where some say children's lives will be at risk.

The project overview from Spence Agraland states that about 100,000 tonnes per year will be hauled from the pit with an average of 15-40 trucks per day, 12 hours a day, six days a week.

‘Reckless disregard’

“It’s a reckless disregard for public safety on the part of the provincial government ,” Riley said. His daughter often rides her horse on that road in the evenings and “if a truck comes barreling through, there’s no place to go to get out of the way.”

Stark Rd. has traditionally been an area where children can walk and ride their bicycles safely, which is one of the reasons Anderson moved to the area.

“I came here because it was such a beautiful street and so my grandson would have a place to walk and play without worry,” he said.

Once quarry operations get underway, residents contend all that will change and some families say they may have to to leave. Widening the road isn't an option either, as many of the houses are too close to the edge.

In addition, residents fear their water supply will be either contaminated or cut off. All of the wells in the area are dug or drilled and the supply has always been plentiful. However, much of the water stems from marshlands that are within and around the quarry's proposed 800-metre blasting zone.

Because the quarry is under four hectares, a full environmental study was not required for the application to be approved. “It’s hard to understand how the government can't take all of this into consideration,” Anderson said.



Not too late, says Action Committee

But the Action Committee says it’s not too late for the government to step in and stop the process. “They have a choice; they can force certain terms based on local conditions,” said Anderson, who has corresponded with Parent.

The Minister has recommended Spence Agraland designate a community liaison committee to act as an advisory body and “provide input on matters regrading operations” before actual operations commence.

Hants West MLA Chuck Porter has taken the community’s petition to the legislature with the request that the quarry development be stopped.

“I'm not against quarries in general; not at all,” Porter said. “But as a government, we need to consider location and our residents’ safety and only approve pits in a reasonable location.”

Porter said he is wholeheartedly behind residents in this matter and has requested the minister to review the environmental impacts. “I think the value of a full environmental assessment is worthy in this situation. A lot of folks have drilled wells and I'm no scientist, but blasting could certainly have an effect on their watertable.”

Area Councillor Gary Cochrane agrees the Stark Rd. location poses a definite concern. “That road is simply not designed for that kind of traffic. It's too narrow and unfortunately can't be widened. All we can do is sympathize. Unfortunately, as a council, our hands are tied because it's a provincial matter,” he said.

Anderson said the quarry makes great business sense, but not at the expense of their way of life. “Basically, the developer bought a 10-acre piece of land in the hopes of making money,” he said. “We have serious concerns here. We're not just trying to be difficult, but what has been approved amounts to operating a commercial pit and our road becoming an industrial highway. What’s being done will be taken out on the backs of people who have lived here all their lives.”