PROVINCE APPROVES MONEY POINT QUARRY EXPANSION
Province attaches conditions to Money Point project
The provincial government has approved the Money Point quarry expansion in northern Cape Breton following an environmental assessment review.
The decision was released by Environment Minister Iain Rankin on Friday afternoon along with conditions that must be met.
Dexter Mining Inc. of Bedford wants to increase production at a gravel quarry it currently operates on top of Money Point Mountain, near Bay St. Lawrence, to 50,000 tonnes per year for the next 40 years.
It requested an environmental assessment approval for a 12.7-hectare permit area for production and operational footprint, storage (stockpiles) and provisions for surface water control, according to Dexter’s registration document filed with the environmental assessment branch of the Department of Environment.
The conditions include completion of monitoring plans for noise, surface and groundwater, air quality/dust, erosion and sedimentation control, and wildlife.
Other conditions of note include:
• Activity on site expansion cannot take place within 30 metres of a watercourse and no removal of vegetation within this 30-metre buffer is permitted unless authorized by the Department of Environment.
• Implementation of a plan to manage any exposed acid generating material and associated drainage.
• Plans must include an updated pre-blast survey for
structures and water wells within 800 metres of the point of the planned blast area, a detailed blast monitoring plan, and a full blast damage response policy.
• Blasting or excavation activities cannot take place within 800 metres of two Victoria County water supply test wells.
• No excavation can take place within a half-metre of the measured maximum annual water table level.
• Dexter Construction must develop a complaint resolution plan to address all concerns associated with the project and must appoint a contact person designated to deal with complaints. A community liaison committee must also be established.
• A wildlife management plan must address the habitat for the bicknell’s thrush, common nighthawks and bat species. There must also be measures to protect bank swallows during breeding season and a plan in place to manage invasive plant species.
• The company must correct at its expense any loss or damage to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. radio tower as a result of project operations. Written consent from the CBC must be provided demonstrating the final site plan is acceptable to both parties.
Dexter Construction must now apply for an amendment to its existing industrial approval in order to begin work on the expansion project.
Earlier this week, Glenn Kosick, who owns a summer home on Bay St. Lawrence Road, told the Post he was concerned increased traffic could deter tourists and upset the tranquility of the area.
“It just seems crazy to me to have gravel trucks on our Cabot Trail with that frequency,” he said. “It’s everything we don’t want for tourism.”
Kosick believes communities such as Aspy Bay, St. Margaret’s Village, Sugar Loaf, Meat Cove, Cape North, Dingwall, Neils Harbour and Ingonish could be negatively impacted by the government’s approval of the project.
The existing quarry opened 20 years ago to mine aggregate used primarily for road and highway construction in Victoria County. Depending on demand, the company currently extracts between 25,000 and 50,000 tonnes per year.