This is the entrance to the newest quarry to open in Mount Uniacke. The site is located off of Mines Road and some members of the community worry it could affect water quality.
A citizen’s group attempted to appeal the quarry’s approval, but it was dismissed.
Stephen Marsh, a spokesperson for the citizen’s group that opposed the quarry, said the process has disappointed him.
“There’s a real desire to approve just about all of these quarries with this government,” Marsh said. “I don’t understand why the government is doing this or why they’re, in my opinion and many others, neglecting that side of things.”
The open-pit quarry has been operating since August 2015, trucking aggregate rock away from the site while blasting and crushing continues.
“They built a road off of Uniacke Mines Road, right into the location,” Marsh said. “They use heavy tandem trucks and really put a pounding on the road, which is already in a sad state.”
Marsh said the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal is looking at upgrading the road.
“They’ve been doing a lot of blasting and people that live there are concerned about their foundations,” he said. “We’ve begun testing our water more thoroughly because we want to know what the benchmark is before all of this potential damage to the water table takes place.”
Marsh said he’s concerned about the quarry’s location, saying it’s located on a steep grade and harmful by-products could seep into the Sackville River watershed and surrounding lakes.
“We don’t know what the impact will be, and that might not be felt for a while,” he said. “In the meantime we’re trying to get some preventive data on our side. We’re going to continue, doing what you might call neighbourhood watch on this.”
The Mount Uniacke area now has four operating quarries.
This latest quarry is listed under Northumberland Capital Corporation Inc., which is leasing the land from a private owner.
Province responds
A spokesperson from the provincial government said in a statement that the environment minister at the time, Andrew Younger, received an appeal on the approval issued to Northumberland Capital Corporation on Aug. 13, 2015.
“After a careful review of the grounds for the appeal provided by the residents, along with our regulations, it was determined that most of the concerns outlined in the appeal were considered as part of the application review process and addressed within the terms and conditions of the approval — such as issues related to groundwater, noise, blasting and dust,” the statement reads.
“Other concerns such as increased truck traffic and impacts to roads in the area are not within the department’s mandate or regulatory authority.”
The appeal was dismissed on Oct. 9, 2015.
As part of the decision, the company has been directed to establish a community liaison committee to support on-going communication with residents.
Fall River quarry
Another quarry in the spotlight is the Fall River quarry, which could impact residents of nearby East Hants.
A community group called Stop the Fall River Quarry, has been fighting the quarry’s development since 2011.
Spokesperson Stacey Rudderham said there’s a lot in common between their efforts and those in Mount Uniacke.
“A major similarity between the (proposed) Fall River quarry and the Mount Uniacke one is the proximity to a watershed,” Rudderham said.
“In Mount Uniacke, they are just ahead of the Sackville River watershed and there were major concerns about runoff and chemical affects,” she said.
“Our proposed quarry would be sitting right in the middle of a watershed, and it’s a water source for both Dartmouth and East Hants,” Rudderham said, adding that it could also impact well users.
Rudderham said the proposed Goffs quarry, which is being pursued by Scotian Materials Inc., is situated near Miller Lake and Soldier Lake.
The Shubenacadie Watershed Environmental Protection Society also appealed the decision to approve the quarry, citing contamination concerns.
The fight in that part of the province isn’t over, as Scotian Materials prepares for a Supreme Court battle to overturn the revoking of the permit while they re-apply to establish a quarry at the same time.
Rudderham says her group will continue to lobby against the quarry development in her community.
“I think it’s time for some real review on the quarry application process,” she said.
Quarry operator response
Robert Macpherson, president of Scotian Materials, said the controversy over the proposed quarry in Goffs is overblown.
“We had made application and received what we believed to have been a legitimately issued industrial approval from Nova Scotia Environment,” Macpherson said. “Then the minister of the environment, after reviewing some appeals, cancelled the application on the basis that sufficient public consultation wasn’t undertaken. That’s been challenged at the court level.”
Macpherson’s company is challenging the revoking of the permit and making another application at the same site in tandem.
Macpherson said they’ve been holding more open houses and public consultation sessions in recent months.
“There’s a lot that’s been going on with this project as far as challenges and debate,” he said. “Certain folks have taken a position and are uninformed.”
Macpherson says he takes issue with the idea that there’s “significant opposition” to the proposed quarry.
“Based on what I’ve seen in our two days at the open house and the comments we’re receiving, I would say that there is definitely opposition, but there are also people that are supportive and people that are indifferent,” he said. “The biggest thing we found that there wasn’t enough information. People want to know that their homes and investments will be protected.”
Macpherson said the company is planning on taking all necessary steps to ensure the protection of the surrounding environment and properties if the quarry is approved.
“All of the surface water that would travel through the quarry first has to go through settlement pods and we have two that are designed to handle the volume of surface water that would travel out of the quarry,” he said. “There would be some discharge (after solids are removed) but the water would be tested to ensure it’s safe for discharge in the environment.”
Macpherson said the land in Goffs was chosen due to its proximity to the 100-series highway and Halifax, which is the biggest market in the region for aggregate.
Macpherson said the quarry size, which comes in at 3.99 hectares — just under the requirement for an environmental assessment — was selected to make less of an impact.
“I debated whether to do that or something larger, and because of the controversy that had been in the past on this project, it was my opinion that it would be better to go in on something that was smaller and to work with the community to test this quarry,” he said.
Macpherson said people with concerns are welcome to attend future public meetings.
A representative from Northumberland Capital Inc., which operates the Mount Uniacke quarry, couldn’t be reached as of press time.
