Archive » Letters

Proposed quarry threatens local ecosystem

August 11, 2015

To the Editor,

I am writing to you today to voice my concerns over the proposed quarry being sought by the Freymond’s in the heart of what is pristine cottage country.
I initially moved to this area in 2009 to build my retirement home which is now complete, based on the quiet surrounding and natural beauty of the flora and fauna that surrounds the lakes. I was also attracted by the fact that Jeffery lake was classified as a class 5 lake, that has self sustaining trout population based on the depth and ph levels within this lake.
It is also an area that has many restrictions relating to septic system designs, building restrictions as a result of the delicate ecosystem that we must be cognizant of as stewards for future generations.
I should mention that I hold a degree in geography and studied geomorphology and various earth sciences including environmental studies. This education has given me some unique perspectives to the area, and I was shocked when I read the report from the so called experts who provides environmental and various geological reports on the subject property. There were statements that no impact or ecological findings had been noted, and I find this hard to believe as I can find numerous species with the various levels of the biota surrounding these lakes. Some of the species are unique salamanders like the Yellow spotted salamander, ( Lacerta maculata and Lacerta subviolacea) the blue spotted salamader (Ambystoma laterale) and the red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinerous) are just three of the species I have seen and collected photos to support my observations.
The area is also home to tree and numerous frog species which rely on the health of the forest and water resources surrounding the area. These alone, would be significantly impacted by the effects of dewatering for an open pit operation which is being proposed to go below the water table by 200 metres.
My next comments also comes from experience where I did work as a hard rock miner in Timmins, and understand the potential effects of blasting and the potential for creating new fractures or disturbing the current geological rock formations which could potentially cause the catastrophic and irreversible damage to the surrounding lakes and underground aquifers.
The so called experts also stated the rock formation in the area was limestone which is a sedimentary rock formation, when the reality is the rocks found in this area are metamorphic which is a result of volcanic activity.
So, my concerns are the reports may look on the surface like they have been professionally prepared, but the reality is they seem to have been prepared with a tainted view on making the area acceptable for the quarry. As a concerned citizen, many of us are concerned that this whole proposal has been going on for the past four years, and only recently did we receive notice (July 2015) of this proposal. In our democratic society we have a right to speak up and voice our concerns and as mentioned we are stewards who need to weigh all the facts to decide if the short term gains of developing a non-renewable resource like a quarry outweighs the impact to the environment and future enjoyment of the region.
This is also not a not in my backyard list of concerns, but one that is based on hard facts that too many miss-quoted and false statements have been made surrounding the proposed quarry. These include the stated volume of material being removed ranged from 200,000 to 400,000 tones a year, yet the application is looking for one million per year this is half the size of the Brechin quarry in Beaverton which has created a lot of truck traffic, and huge open pits in that area which is okay, because it is not impacting any ecological sensitive biosphere, but the Bancroft region is unique and we need to protect the area through careful management of our renewable and non-renewable resources. Jeffery lake and Bay lake are also at higher elevations than the proposed quarry, and it does not take an expert to understand that water does work to find the lowest point and this is why the risk to too great.
Respectfully,

Daniel R. Deschamps
Bancroft