09092011

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The Creemore

Echo

Friday, September 9, 2011 Vol. 11 No. 36

News and views in and around Creemore

Inside the ECHO

Champion Pedigree

Back to School

Fred Mills on his time with Jays and Argos.

A bittersweet tradition.

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Publications Mail Agreement # 40024973

HIGHLAND QUARRY NOW SUBJECT TO EA

SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL

Ferocious storm whips through region, downing trees and damaging buildings

BLOWN DOWN Last Saturday night saw wind blowing hard enough to have several folks in the area thinking about hitting their basements. Not surprisingly, several trees came down in and around Creemore, while the Creemore Home Hardware suffered major damage to the front of its building. Luckily, nobody was on the sidewalk when the store’s sign came down. While tornados were spotted that night in the KitchenerWaterloo region, Simcoe County was apparently free of that level of storm.

photos David Dillon

by Brad Holden After months of protest by those against the 2,316-acre limestone quarry proposed by the Highland Companies for the potato fields of Melancthon, Ontario’s environment minister has called for an extensive Environmental Assessment of the project. “After careful consideration,” said Minister of the Environment John Wilkinson, “the Minister of Natural Resources and I have agreed to bring forward a regulation making Highland Companies subject to the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act. Ministry of the Environment officials have thoroughly examined the technical reports which were submitted by the quarry proponents. Based on a review of those reports, and because of the unique nature of the Melancthon quarry proposal, I believe a full Environmental Assessment is necessary.” The announcement is a big victory for anti-quarry groups, who have been making lots of noise about the somewhat incredulous fact that under the Aggregate Resources Act, quarries are traditionally not subject to EAs. Meanwhile, the Highland Companies answered the Minister with a press release of its own, reconfirming its commitment to the project, despite last week’s “unprecedented” announcement. John Lowndes of The Highland Companies stated: “We are confident that a truly transparent and independent assessment of the proposed Melancthon Quarry will demonstrate that we have taken a responsible and balanced approach. We were surprised by the announcement, especially since we were already in talks with various government ministries and were complying with the rigorous requirements of the Aggregate Resources Act, the Planning Act, the Environmental Protection Act, and the Water Resources Act.”

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