Gravel Ban

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 15:45

Zorra Township bans any new operation or expansions for one year.

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ZORRA - Zorra Township is hoping to catch the attention of aggregate operators when it comes to the impact the businesses have on the community.

This comes as Council voted to ban -- for one year -- any new operations or expansions of gravel pits in certain parts of the township.

Mayor Margaret Lupton says everyone who fills out an application for a gravel pit in the Township acts like they would be the only gravel pit ever to have been started in Zorra.

"There's very little attention paid to cumulative effects and that's what the residents are mostly concerned about. One gravel pit is one thing in a community but it is one more if you have three or four within a stone's throw -- the effects of dust and noise and truck traffic and everything."

Zorra Township has 48 pits and quarries covering nearly 7000 acres of land.

Council made the decision earlier this week in hopes of taking a closer look at their policies to try and slow the rapid increase in operations around the Township.

Lupton says they get very little financial help on their tax levy from the aggregate operations. "Six cents a tonne is what they talk about for a gravel levy and this year we are -- I believe it's the seventh largest aggregate producing municipality in all of Ontario -- and our cheque for levy is $250,000, which is nothing." She says the companies need to consider what they are doing to the community and the roads. "One heavily loaded gravel truck going down the road causes as much damage as -- I believe it's 65,000 cars -- so it's huge when you think about it that way. It's something that I can hardly believe but it does make a lot of damage and our roads are not built for the traffic that is on them right now."

The by-law will prohibit the Township from processing any new zone change applications, new or expanded gravel pits, or stone quarries while a policy review is carried out on the current mineral extraction rules of the Oxford County Official Plan.