Aggregate Open House

Wednesday, 15 April 2015 07:09

Zorra Township held an open house to inform residents about a bylaw that may halt the creation of new gravel pits in the county.

ZORRA TOWNSHIP - Zorra Township hosted an open house to discuss the Aggregate Policy Review Study.

The Study hopes to put a freeze on the creation of new gravel pits or the expansion of existing pits in Zorra Township.

Acting Deputy Mayor for Zorra Township, Ron Forbes, is hopeful this will satisfy the residents of Zorra Township. "We have been getting a lot of complaints from the citizens really regarding around the number of pits there is no real consolation process for cumulative effects. The more and more pits we get, the more and more trucks and the whole thing just starts to add up. We are going to see if we can slow the process down a little." Oxford County is ranked 7th in the province for most Aggregate produced which includes sand, gravel, and limestone.

The 5 step process came in to effect in January and will directly involve the public, with Forbes stating it is time to review how the system can be improved upon. "The purpose of this is to hit the pause button and put a stop to the expansion that are going to occur in North Oxford. This pause is for one year there is an opportunity of a second year if we can prove it is necessary." It's hoped the review will be completed by December.

The study is taking place to examine the environmental impacts as 77 licences have been issued in the county with 80% of those located within Zorra Township. Forbes wants to hear from everyone throughout this process. "We want everybody's input on this, it is the only way we're going to get a reasonable solution. There will be further public consultations, there is going to be a survey that will be posted on the Township's web site, have a look at that, post it back to the Township, we will be glad to have you fill it out." Over 5.8 million tonnes of Aggregate was produced in Oxford County in 2013.