11 30 1994 Sp Public3 Minutes
,
.
,
"..
".
HB coaPORA'fIOB OJ' HB ~_IP OJ' oaG-IIBDON'lB
8PBCDL PUBLIC KBBTING
WBDHB8DAY. HOVBIIBD 30. 1tt4
. 7&20 P.K. - COUNCIL CBaHBD8
POR~-TRIRD KBB'fING 1tt1-1tt4 COUNCIL
The following members of Council were present:
Mayor Robert E. Drury
Deputy Mayor Ian Beard
Reeve David Caldwell
Deputy Reeve Norman Dalziel
Councillor Donald Bell
Councillor Alastair Crawford
Councillor Walter Dickie
Councillor Murray Martin
Councillor Leonard Mortson
Absent:
Councillor Joanne Crokam
staff Present:
Mr. Gary cunnington, Administrator,
Kris Menzies, Planner, Andria Leigh,
Zoning Administrator
Also Present Were:
Shirley Dunstan, Glenda Spencer,
Gordon Wright, Dean Griffin, Joe Daca
Edna Morris, Ross Bradley, Gord Blair
Gary Thiess, Doris Robson, Lloyd
Fletcher, June Fallis, Ann Bridge,
Gwen Sutherland, D.S. Sutherland,
Jeffrey Ball, William May, Len Robso
Lawrence Fallis, Arthur Berry, Irene
Berry, D. Dowia, Les Jermey, Bob
Shultz, Gail O'Brien, Lillian
McConnell, Gail Donovan, Lorraine
Burton, Lorna Sommers, Betty Gullett,
Brian Greasley, K. Bell, Lorne Van
Sinclair, Ruth-Ann Howell, Katherine
McHardy, Ted Beaton, Stephen Woodrow,
Don Robinson, Allan Johnson, Donald
MacDonald, Ron Sommers, Paul Robins,
H. Driverkslake, Tim Rideout, Don
Anderson, N. Ready, E. Ready, Laury
Ego, Dave Burton, George Lucas, Lorne
Budd, Bob Besse, Charlie Micallef,
Christina Usher, James Usher, Orval E
Hutchinson, Neil Craig, Don McArthur,
Margaret Baker, Myrle Pattenden,
Maureen Martyn, Robin McNamara, Brock
Rivers.
*
IT IS TO BE NOTED THAT THE COUNCIL
CHAMBERS AND ADJACENT PUBLIC AREA
ROOMS WERE AT CAPACITY AND THAT THE
NAMES OF ALL THOSE PRESENT DID NOT
APPEAR ON THE CIRCULATED ATTENDANCE
SHEET.
Mayor Robert Drury chaired the meeting.
Mayor Robert Drury opened the meeting by explaining to those presen
that this Public Meeting was to receive public comments with respec
to a proposed Official Plan and Zoning By-Law Amendment, under
section 17 and 34 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990 c. P. 13. The
applicant has applied to redesignate lands and rezone lands to allo
for the development of a commercial water operation located on
certain lands, Part of Lot 3, Concession 10 (Oro).
To date, the Council of the corporation of the Township of Oro-
Medonte have not made a decision on this application, other than
proceeding to this Public Meeting. Only after comments are receive
from the Public, requested agencies and Township Staff, within the
appropriate time period, will Council make a decision on this
application.
.
<
,
~
.
- 2 -
Notice of the Public Meeting was mailed out on November 10, 1994,
all property owners within 120 metres of the subject lands. Notic
of the Public Meeting was also placed in both the Barrie Examiner
and orillia Packet on November 10, 1994.
Mayor Robert Drury then asked the Clerk if there had been any
correspondence received on this matter. The Clerk responded by
indicating that a letter had been received fr~m the R~wanwo~d
Conserver society Inc. as follows: Oro Townsh~p Counc~l, Re. Gold
Mountain Proposal 9th Concession, Oro-Medonte Township, Dear
Councillors' The'members of Rowanwood community, on the 7th
Concession ~f Oro-Medonte Township near Coulson, would like to
register our opposition to the proposed Gold Mountain high speed
water well located on the 9th concession of Oro-Medonte Township.
We ask that this letter be read into the minutes of the council
meeting on Wednesday November 30. We are concerned about:
1. The cumulative impact on the Oro Moraine, which was establishe
in the recent OMB hearing on OPA #39 as a sensitive and significan
water recharge area. We have received no assurance that the
extraction of a million gallons of water each week, in addition to
the quantities of water required by the large urban developments
destined for this area, will not deplete the aquifers beyond
recovery.
2. Private exploitation of a public resource. The water beneath
our township belongs not to those few individuals who choose to
extend a straw down into it, but to all inhabitants of the area -
human and otherwise - as well as those "downstream" whose well-bei
also depends on this important water source.
3. The inadequacy of current knowledge concerning the Oro Moraine.
It was the testimony of expert witness Kirk Johnson of Terraprobe
during the recent OMB hearing on OPA 39 that the kind of
hydrological mapping done on the Oak Ridges Moraine has not been
done for the Oro Moraine. Dr. Anita Beaton in her testimony
demonstrated that the geology of a moraine is not straightforward
and must be precisely mapped in order to predict how the various
aquifers will behave.
4. The long-term impact of the loss of a billion gallons of water
over the course of 20 years. This is not water which will be
returned to the water table, but trucked to far-away destinations.
Mr. Johnson testified that the impact of residential development on
water is mitigated because much of the water is returned to the
ground through septic systems. In situations where the water is
removed and no recharge occurs, he said, the impact is much greater
We cannot believe that this massive extraction will go unnoticed by
future generations, who may require pipelines from Georgian Bay if
we are not careful stewards of the resources under our fee today.
5. The possibility that the current township council, with no
current mandate following the November 14 election, may ignore the
fact that it is no longer representative of the public will and
choose to support this zoning change. In response to a question by
Connie Cochrane on this point at the November 22 meeting at the
Jarratt Hall, Mr. David Burton agreed to abide by the decision of
the new Council concerning final approval of this proposal. We
trust that he will. Council therefore need not and should not wast
everyone's time by considering this proposal at this time. In the
event that the new council has to revoke any approval, the
ratepayers could then be committed to a court case, OMB hearing or
both - a consequence that would remain as a long-remembered and
costly legacy of this out-going council.
6. The possibility that members of Council have friends, family
members or business interest that would be affected by the approval
of the Gold Mountain proposal. We ask each Council member to
declare any such interest at the November 30 meeting. Sincerely,
Hartley Woodside, for the Rowanwood community.
.
- 3 -
Mayor Drury:
, h to declare a Pecuniary interest?
Does anyone w~s
Reeve Caldwell:
Mas I have done previously, prior to the correspondence
Mr. ayor, " interest because one of th
information, I have a pos~~bîe pec~~~a~~OU9h under the Conflict of
principals ~s ~i ~~~;h~~~~~~v:~'aebrother-in:law or sisters. So, I
;~i~r:~;pA~a~k~in the interest of leaving no possible doubt.
The Mayor then stated that those persons present would be affor~ed
the opportunity of asking questions with r7spect ~o the pro~ose
Amendment. I am going to ask the people th~s 7ven~ng that w en we
et to the question period to make your quest~ons clear and I am, ,
~ery sorry for this but I will cut you off and ask you your spec~f~
question so we can get,to th7 point: councillors have a full agend
\ after this public meet~ng th~s even~ng., '
He then turned the meeting over to the Townsh~p Planner, Ms. K~~~
Menzies, to explain the purpose and effect of the proposed Off~c~al
Plan and zoning By-Law Amendment.
Kris Menzies:
Thank you Mr. Mayor. I will apologize in advance if I have my back
to anyone. The purpose of tonights public meeting is to allow
council to hear public comments on a proposed Official Plan
Amendment and proposed rezoning on Part Lot 3, Concession 10 in the
former Township of Oro. The proposal is to redesignate lands from
the Agricultural designation in the Official Plan to two
designations on a portion of the property. One of those
designations being Industrial and the other designation being
Environmental Protection. The second proposal before Council this
evening is to rezone a portion of that property from the
Agricultural zoning to a site specific Industrial zoning and a
Hazard Land zoning which is identified in the zoning By-law as OS2.
The purpose of these designations in zoning would be to recognize a
environmentally sensitive feature on the property. That would be
the purpose of the Environmental protection on the OS2 zone and the
Industrial zoning is to recognize a proposed water bottling plant.
Mr. Mayor, Mr. Gary Bell is here and he is representing the
proponents in this matter and I am sure he had additional
information for the public and is available to answer any questions
Mayor Drury:
Kris do you wish Gary to explain to the audience the complete
request or move forward to the question period?
Gary Bell:
Mr. May~r, I will make a few remarks recognizing that there is a lo
of publ~c here and that it is a public meeting and it is suppose to
be brief and then looking very carefully to the public.
My name is Gary Bell and I am a planner from Barrie with the firm 0
Skelton, Brumwell and Associates. We have been retained by Gold
Mountain Springs to investigate and advise them on their proposed
commercial water operation in Oro-Medonte.
Gold Mountain Springs are here amongst the audience in various
places, they are Bob Schultz, Dave Burton, Randy Roe, Doug Gullett
and Mike Reynolds. They are all, essentially local in this Townshi
and the adjacent Township, businessmen.
--
..
,
.
- 4 -
Gary Bell:
l' tion by Gold Mountain springs
My purpose isdt~ ~~:~~~;lt~:t:~Pb~~~ling plant. To outline the wor
for a propose ~n 'o'ect we have requested and are
done and in progress~ f~rat~~~ll~ ~eeting by the municipality now 0
pleased to have rece~ve, ' inion comments early. we
the overall project tOtObttha~n P~~î~ca~Pwe go out to the agencies
will listen carefully 0 e pu
that are reviewing the proposal.
, , 1 C cil to make any decision on
~~ea~:t~~; ~~~h:~k~~ga~~=tm~~~~cd~l:l ~!~~ Am~~d~:~~ O~tt~: ~~~i~~r~~
1 Amendment that Ms. Menz~es escr~ e . , 'd d
f~; that. There is lots of questions to be ~evi~wed and co~s: er~
We intend, in the future, to esta~lish a ~as~s w~th the,mun~c~pal~t
and the community for a co-operat~ve work~ng through t~~s, '
a lication I recognize that the issue on everyone m~nd ~s th~s
m~~ter of the permit to take water. with counci~'s indulgence~ I
would like to address that matter, prior to gett~ng to the, sUbJect
of the public meeting, which is the industrial water bottl~ng plant
I believe in meeting issues head on.
To go to a bit of background, Gold Mountain springs wa~ formed 7arl
in 1994 by the gentlemen I have identified. I would l~ke to,po~nt
out the president of Gold Mountain springs, Bob Schultz, he ~s back
in here. In the early part of 1994, this company inv7stig~ted a
number of potential sites for commercial water operat~ons ~n Oro-
Medonte and area. They found a suitable site with hig~ quality,
water and did specific testing on that in early July w~th Ian w~~so
the hydrogeologist. Ian is here. We have asked Ian ~o come ton~gh
to address questions that you may have about the,perm~t process,
recognizing of course, the permit is not the subJect of the publ~c
meeting, but Gold Mountain springs is wanting to take the concerns
expressed very seriously and has asked Ian to come out as well.
Following the investigation by Mr. Wilson, Gold Mountain springs
bought the property on July 20th. In early August, the company
applied for a permit to take water, to the Sudbury Office of the
Ministry of the Environment. That Ministry is charged with the
responsibility of this permit to take water process and undertook
the circulation of the application as they saw necessary, reviewed
the hydrogeology report to ascertain whether this project, this
request warranted the permit. We were retained in August of that
year. In late August, we began to make our enquiries and
investigations with the municipality about the potential for the
industrial plant on the property. We also visited the site with th
Ministry of Natural Resources staff to investigate and to determine
the specific nature of the property and its attributes. In
September, further investigations proceeded and we attended at a
meeting of Township staff and council to discuss the potential of a
application. On September 30th, the application for an Official
Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment that is before Council
for a public input meeting tonight, was submitted. On October 13th
we met here in this room with the Oro-Medonte Planning Advisory
Committee, which is an open meeting, to address the application in
very general terms. we requested the public meeting at that time.
There was only one or two people here from the general public at th
Planning Advisory Committee meeting in October. We knew that it wa
a larger public issue and we wanted much greater early public input
We asked for the public meeting and we are pleased to see so many 0
you here tonight.
On October 19th, the Oro-Medonte council authorized the subject
public meeting and the notices went out.
The permit to take water process by the Ministry of Environment
proceeded through September, October and on November 21, the
Ministry issued a permit to take water. That is a document and wit
my planning report I will submit, I will give a copy to the
municipality for background reference. The permit to take water wa
issued with the terms and conditions provided for monitoring the
\ ..
).
- 5 -
Gary Bell:
th rting on the water taking.
system a~d the ~easurements anditr:sre~~ minute or the equivalent
The perm~~ was ~ssued forK909,l thatPthe public has been concerne
872,640 l~tres per day. n~w~ng went back to the MOE to
about this permit and w~at ~t me:~~'Wh~n they issue a permit to ta
ascertain exactly what l~ doe~ ~he public tonight that the Ministr
water. I can tel~ counc~~,an articular project means that they ar
in issuing a perm~t f~r ~s ~ ntial impact on the cold water
satisfied that there ~s no po e Th MOE is also satisfied that
streams or wetlan~s of the area:th o~her established or proposed
there will be no ~nter~erenc~ ~~is has been identified in the
uses for th7 ground wa er an , satisfaction. Further, they have
hydrogeolog~cal report't~Ot~he~rality for natural function of the
identified that the aes e ~~dquater stream will not be altered by
surface water ~odY of the c~d Wt'fied all of that because I realiz
this water tak~ng. I have ~ en ~ ,
that there is a fundamental issue on people's m~nds here.
I would like to move on from the permit aspect, back to the planni
application before the council tonight.
Gold Mountain springs directors provi~ed,to the ~arratt-Coulson
directors of the area residents assoc~at~on, an ~ntroducto~y lette
that I wrote september 22nd to the municipality, they prov~ded tha
to Jarratt-Coulson back in september.
Further the Gold Mountain springs directors ~ttended a Jarratt-
coulson'Ratepayers Association community meet~ng on November 22nd.
To my understanding, I was not there, it was ,attended by 5? to 60
area residents and they went through the proJect. That br~ngs us
tonight.
The property which is the subject of this pl~nning applicat~on,is
Part of Lot 3 Concession 10. The property ~s 88.6 acres, ~t ~s
located here (indicated on map) in the 10th Concession of the 3rd
lot, the frontage on the 9th Concession road. The property is ope
area on the east and south and bush areas on the north and the west
and it does contain a natural spring cold water stream. The
property as you can see, is opposite the proposed Buffalo springs
residential development in Concession 9. This is the overall
conceptual site plan that we have provided to the municipality and
to the agencies for their initial review. It shows the concession
road in grey here, the proposed Buffalo Springs residential
development I have shown by adding on their subdivision (indicated
on map) .
The proposal is to process the water from the well that I have
spoken about against the permit, through a water bottling plant or
operation for bulk distribution and for the bottling of natural
spring water and potentially flavouring and bottling of that water.
A building is to be developed on this site here (indicated on map) i
and it is in the middle of the property. It is on an area of about!
5 acres in the middle of the property, that is to be the industrial
area. It is to contain a building of 20,000 sq. ft. up to
approximately 50,000 sq. ft. ultimate potential. That area is to
contain storm water management areas, septic, tile bed areas, bulk
water storage tanks and parking areas. Gold Mountain Springs is
proposing to process this water on site and thereby establish
through investment in a building, through jobs and assessment a
worthwhile project for Oro-Medonte. '
We have been looking at the issues of environment, as I say, we hav
had MNR on site and they are reviewing more complete information no
as is the Health unit and the local MOE. Traffic has been a concer
and we have done preliminary assessments of the traffic to be
generated from such a project. That work is established that in
combination with the Buffalo Springs project, the level of service
for all traffic movements at County Road 22 to the north, will not
essentially change.
L
\.
- 6 -
We had to establish basic compatibility with this project in
relationship to the proposed residential development, the tree
buffer area, the tree area that you see here (indicated on map) is
to remain within the property. Buffalo Springs will use this road
from their entrance point a little bit to the north here (indicate
on map) the one entrance. There will be a shared road by
residential and industrial traffic at that point. The indu~trial
traffic involves up to 20 or 30 truck movements or truck tr~ps per
day for the initial phase and up to 60 for the ul~imate dev~lopmen
In addition to that there will be the smaller veh~cle traff~c of
employees. We are going to establish that more formally fo~
municipal consideration in our submissions. We have recogn~zed th
Horseshoe Valley is a corridor, it is to be a recreational
residential area. This will be a change to that, it will be a
change that we think can be established as acceptable planning on
the basis of careful site planning, contribution to your strategic
plan and worthwhile investment in the municipality.
Where do we go from here? As I indicated, the application is
relatively early on, it is under municipal and agency review. We
are going to certainly hear from a number of you tonight. We are
going to listen very carefully to that. We hope to establish a
procedure, cooperatively with your council for proceeding on down
the line with the Official Plan Amendment, perhaps with special
policies, a zoning By-law Amendment, likely with special provision
to ensure that this industrial zoning provides for the proposed
industrial water bottling plant and nothing else and certainly, a
development agreement to accommodate all municipal concerns within
their jurisdiction and to address the community concerns and
requirements as we can through a development agreement.
Mr. chairman, I would be pleased to answer questions or to listen
carefully.
Mayor Drury:
Thank you. ~ will just state a few rules regarding questions. Fir
of all, I w~ll al~ow you ample time to say your question. I would
a~k you to come d~~ectlY to the point since a lot of people would
l~ke to have quest~ons brought forward this evening and we don't
want you,to rambl7 on. ~ will make sure that we have order and
decorum ~n her th~s even~ng and I ask that the people here that th
respect the answers given. You may not agree with the answers but
~l~ase respect,them. Anyone who starts heckling, I will not allow
~t. Please ab~de by these rules and we will get along well. I wi
a~k you to state your name, since this is being recorded state it
c early and come to the microphone please. '
Allan Baker:
My name is Allan Baker and I th
questions and concerns. assume at you are accepting both
Ron Sommers:
~~~r:a~~~'aW~~~d ~ou askl e~eryone to speak into the mike because
0 peop e ~n the lobby that cannot hear a thing.
Allan Baker:
As I mentioned, my name is Allan B k d '
some concerns and some uestion a er an I would l~ke to discuss
Mayor, Councillors' I q s a~ we go. Mr. Mayor, Mr. Deputy-
communitY,Group to' spe:~ ~~P~==~~1~~;nt~~ ~~~r~;i~coUlSOn,& Dis~ric
water ~aklng operation and the proposed rezoning OfM~~~t~~~dspr~ngs
Mou~ta~n property from the Agricultural to the Industrial and
Env~ronmental Protection designations.
L
, ,
- 7 -
" ., d held a well-attended information
Our ~rgan~zat~on, as me~t~~~;4'WhiCh included a presentation by Mr:
~F!~!~~f:~E?;~r~~ ~~~~~~~no~p~~~~~~J~~~~~: 1
other residents of the area.
, dd 'the question of the effect of
The first concern we w~ll a ~~s~w~~er-taking" This deep aquifer
one million gallons per week h develo ment the Horseshoe Valley
is also tapped by thet~ugarbu~ved BUff~lO S~rings development, all
complex and the recen yappr 'te the assurances of the
extremely large water u~er~. Des~~and the fact that the Ministry 0
pro,?onents' hYdrOgeolOg~ca i~:~~~ a "permit-To-Take-water" to Gold
~~~~~~~~e~tr~~~s~n:~~~ r::idents, especially local ~armers, are ver
concerned ~bout the drawdown effe~ts of not only th~s well, but the
combined drawdown of all these maJor water-takers.
In the case of Buffalo springs, suga~bush and ~orseshoe Valley, the
water removed from the deep aquifer ~s redepos~ted o~ the surface
within the same general area. This,const~tutes a maJor loss to the
deep aquifer as it receives very l~ttle ~f any of the water
deposited on' the surface; it simply runs away.
In the case of Gold Mountain springs, the water which they remove i
a complete loss to both the deep aquifer and the surface systems.
There is a "limit" to the water supply in this deep aquifer and no
one knows what that limit is. We do know it is wrong to remove suc
large quantities from the system some (52 million gallons per year)
Ground water, like the air we breathe, is a 'Public Good', a term
used by economists that simply means; it belongs to everyon7' For
this reason no one has the right to take our ground water ~n
quantities that exceed his or her family's personal requirements.
Would it be right for a compressed air company to set up on this
spot and take so much air that area residents, in say a one mile
radius, would suffocate? No questions!! I don't think you would
sit still for that for a minute.
Is the distinct" possibility that area farms could lose the moisture
so essential to their crops and their very livelihood acceptable?
And is this so much different than the suffocation example?
The hydrogeologist's report admits a drawdown of the water table
from 16.7 metres below the surface to 36.6 metres (over 100 feet) ~I
after only 72 hours of pumping at the permitted rate of 208 gallons
per minute. Can you imagine what effect would result from a week 0
pumping, how about a month, how about a year, how about 10 years; i
how about all four major water takers for ten years? I
will the deep aquifer fail under this demand? Again no one knows!
The hydrogeologist tells us blithely that the cumulative
precipitation in the area far exceeds the water to be taken by thei
wells. No problem!! We know, and you know, that almost all of it
runs off, either on the surface, or immediately under the surface;
down hill to the nearest watercourse. Very little of it penetrates
to replenish the deep aquifer. How many years did it take to
accumulate this water? At what rate is it being replenished? No
one knows! "
As so little is known about the capacity or the limits of our
aquifer, (yours and mine, and everyone's in this room), we believe
it to be very imprudent to allow the taking of water as proposed by
Gold Mountain Springs.
We are also concerned about the proposition of rezoning Agricultura
land to Industrial in the midst of an agricultural area and
immediately adjacent to a large, dense residential development
(Buffalo Springs). This is simply 'bad planning' and should be
rejected for this reason alone.
--
- 8 -
We are concerned about the impact on Horseshoe Valley Road in the
form of increased traffic - 40 tanker trucks per day or 4 trucks pe
hour - based on the 10 hour shift proposed. Every fifteen minutes,
an 'empty or loaded truck will negotiate the 9th Concession and
Horseshoe Valley Road intersection!
Fully loaded, these trucks will haul an avera~e 50 tons of water.
Just imagine these heavily loaded trucks pull~ng out of the 9th ont
Horseshoe Valley Road (one of the most hazardous spots among many 0
that road), and slowly trying to climb the knoll t~ the,east or,
descend the grade to the west, while at the same t~me d~sappear~ng
from the view of traffic speeding in both directions along the same
road. This dangerous intersection is just yards from the sight of
tragic fatality which occurred about a year ago; fortunately the
only fatal accident on this road so far. Think about how these
trucks will compound the existing risks of driving of this road wit
its poor sight distances, steep grades, hidden intersections and
driveways, and total lack of shoulders and turning lanes. Now add
in the additional traffic increase (projected at 300%) as a result
of the OMB approved Buffalo Springs, Valdoro and Sabiston
developments. surely you can understand our concerns.
In conclusion, we respectfully request your rejection of the Gold
Mountain springs proposal for the following reasons:
1)
excessive and probably unsustainable water extraction from thi
area's deep aquifer is unacceptable.
no~ enough is known about the aquifer to support a decision at
th~s time - more study is required.
2)
3)
~arge water extractions have proven to be 'not in the public
~nteres~' as experien~ed in centres such as Bradford, Fergus
and,E~m~ra. TV Ontar~o recently aired a program describing ho
~ s~m~lar, ~ut larger aquifer, the ogallala, has been exploite
~n Kansas; ~n onlr four years t~e water table has dropped 140
feet and area res~dents are fac~ng a major water supply
problem.
Bill,126 w~ich is pending in the ontario Legislature seeks to
p~ov~de gu~dance,for Municipalities in dealing with proposals
l~ke G~ld Mount~~n. It should prove useful to Council in
render~ng a dec~sion. A decision now should therefore be
deferred.
4)
5)
~he testing and monitoring offered in support of this
~s totally inadequate. proposal
a favourable ruling on this Proposal 'll
s~ 1 w~, undoubtedly Spawn
'mi ar proposals by other bulk water h
syndrome begins. s ~ppers - the gold rush
6)
7)
until an Environmental Assessment f th '
1 0 e s~te has been
comp eted and is found to support th'
should be made. ~s proposal, no decision
8)
The establishment of 'd t '
agricultural area con~~a~:n~~a~u~e~~~~~~:~tpt~n~he midst of an
Horseshoe Valley Road' , d
by the Gold Mountain S~;i~~: equate io handle the traffic adde
unacceptable threat to the pr~posa, ~nd poses an
residents. qual~ty of l~fe and safety of area
9)
Thank you for your consideration
Mayor Drury:
Gary, db you wish to respond to that?
. .
- 9 -
Gary Bell:
Are those being submitted in writing? Because there are a lot of
points there that warrant a substantial written response that we
would be please to do.
Ken Joyce:
My name is Ken Joyce and I am the President of the Horse~hoe Va~le
Property Owners Association. To Mayor, members of Counc~l, lad~es
and gentlemen; our subject tonight, as we have he~rd, is GOldf
Mountain springs Proposal. We have arranged to g~ve a copy 0 our
associations concerns to each of you on Council and to Clerk,
Shoebridge. However, I want to take the time to read our concerns
to the very interested public here tonight.
Our community has recently undergone a very difficult OMB Hearing
dealing with OPA Amendment 39, in which the Board approved the
Horseshoe Valley Corridor proposal. The development of five
residential nodes was seen as a way to prevent random strip
development along the Horseshoe Valley Road.
Our Association believes that the Gold Mountain Springs proposal f
a commercial water operation - in which the community's water
resource will be exported out of the township for private profit -
contravenes both the spirit and the letter of the board approval of
OPA 39.
We have a number of major concerns that we wish to place on public
record:
- The commercial exploitation of our water resource will cause the
lands between the residential nodes to be changed from agricultural
designation to industrial/commercial. This violates the intent of
the corridor Policy approval. It begins the process of strip
development along the Horseshoe Valley Road.
- the ruling on OPA 39 included a Traffic Agreement which was
accepted by all the parties - including the Township. This
agreement recognizes serious deficiencies in the Horseshoe Valley
Road as evidenced by expert witnesses.
Notwithstanding these deficiencies Gold Mountain Springs proposes
the additional traffic of 40 to 50 tanker-truck trips per day!
Adding this traffic load will only increase the problems on this
narrow, hilly road - problems which were clearly identified in the
"Joint Submission to the OMB, Schedule A, entitled Transportation
Items."
This submission included the safety of school buses. We
respectfully request the Council, in all conscience, to act upon
this threat to our children as a primary concern immediately, as
well as in the context of proposed increases in truck traffic to
haul water.
- The proposed water extraction is situated within the Oro Moraine
Upland. We are concerned that this significant landscape feature i
being overwhelmed by other extractions, including sand and gravel
extraction.
- We believe that the entire Moraine area should be studied in its
entirety before any further development is approved. We see it as
imperative that the ecological health of the Moraine be maintained
and protected.
We appreciate that such a thoughtful and responsible action will
require County and Provincial participation. We also see this
matter as an opportunity and a challenge for our newly-elected
Council to demonstrate its capacity for leadership.
- 10 -
Our recommendation to Council is to pause to examine all the aspec
of the proposed water extraction enterprise. We ask that Council
place-the good of the community above the interests of those who
would sell our water for personal gain.
Our Association stand ready to support Council in any such
undertaking to safeguard our mutual interests.
Mayor Drury:
Gary, do you wish to respond or hold until all questions?
Gary Bell:
I think we will hold and make a general response.
Ron Davies:
Thank you Mr. Mayor for the opportunity to come here tonight. Fir
of all, my name is Ron Davies and I live in the Township of Severn,
in.what use to be Orillia Township. I say it with no apologies,
that what is being discussed here is as much my concern as to the
citizens of Oro-Medonte. I might add that the concerns of the
citizens the Township of Severn because aquifers do not stop at
boundary lines. They say that no one is an island unto themselves.
That also applies to municipalities. When I was on Council of the
Town~hip of Orillia, 1989-1991, we learned from our experiences wi
the restructuring process and the City of Toronto who wanted to pu
their garbage in the limestone quarry about one mile from our home.
About the first experience, let me say, we were not happy about it.
Regarding our battle with Toronto, there was much concern expresse
by neighbouring municipalities, worried about the possible pollutio
of the underground water that also ran under their lands. We
understood their concern and we welcomed their support. Ladies an
gentlemen, we have a similar situation of mutual concern here. Th
aquifer that these million of gallons of water will be taken from,
extends from the Laurentian Highlands to the shores of Georgian Bay
It could effect the water table in Severn Township as much as the
farm lands here. As a matter of fact, the wholesale selling of
water is a concern of the County of Simcoe, the Province of ontario
and the Dominion of Canada. We could be opening the door to one of
the biggest giveaways of natural resources to ever occur in this
Country. Our American neighbours, I often refer to them as America
friends, except in deals like this, have badly depleted their water
resources and now they are after ours. There are two points I want
to emphasise.
1.
The magnitude of the water being sold, one million gallons per
week (52 million gallons per year). This represents a volume
of 8.3 million cubic feet of water. A cube of water that is
2020 feet long, 2020 feet wide and 2020 feet high in one year.
Think of it over ten years, twenty years.
2.
How in the world did this ever get MOE approval and almost wit
no public knowledge? I have heard so much about the
environmental assets and impact studies.
3.
Is it aesthetic under the EPA or is assessed under the EAA We
could not even move the location of a new bridge ten feet
without an environmental assessment which would have cost our
township over $100,000.00 and yet all this water can be sold
with MOE approval and no public hearings. It is unthinkable.
4.
There is only one answer to this situation, the MOE (pardon me
I am quite nervous here tonight) should be rescinded. The MOE
approval should be rescinded and there could be a public
hearing under the Environmental Assessment Act. The taxpaying
public have every right to know what is going on.
Thank you.
, ,
- 11 -
Mayor Drury:
t uestion I would like to know how many are
Before I take the nex qd the 52 million gallons of water per year
going to be taken ndorwawa~ater 200 gallons per minute, 24 hours a day
Is that permit to
Gary Bell:
metric calculator with me and I
To clarify that I don't have my '200 gallons
909 l' ;tres Per minute is, I bel~eve, ..
apologize, .
John Hare:
t' at Jarratt that there would be
Mr. Burton told us at our mee ~ng minute about 200 000 gallons a
pumping ap~roxi~atelY 200 gakllon;h:t is wh~t he told the people at
day and go~ng s~x days a wee.
Jarratt.
Gary Bell:
That is correct I wanted to make sure about the metri~ conversion.
The permit to t~ke water issued by the Ministry of Env~ronment'd
first of all is a permit for the taking of wa~er fr~m t~e grount th
water. -I advised you all of what that means,~n the~r v~ew abou ,
protection of the various aspects of the env~ronment. ,That perm~t
does not permit any particular sale or use to any part~cular ~roup.
It is only a permit to take water from the ground water that ~s
sustainable. It is correct that the 909 litres is 200 g~llons t~at
is to be available per minute. About 16 hours of potent~al pump~ng
per day and a rest of 8 hours per day for the system.
Mayor Drury:
Ok, so the permit is actually for 16 hours per day.
Gary Bell:
That is correct.
If you would like, I could read the conditions.
Mayor Drury:
Please do.
Ga'ry Bell:
Tne MOE established the conditions that the permit holder shall:
Establish and maintain a system to measure the quantity of water
taken.
Operate the system and record the measurements of the quantity of
water taken on a daily basis.
Measure and record on a monthly basis the water level of the source
well after a period of at lease 8 hours of 0 water taking.
Return to the director the records made under these conditions.
The taking of water under authority of this permit shall not exceed
16 hours per day.
Mr. Chairman, other questions have been raised about other
jurisdictions and what happens after a permit to take water is in
place. We are asking for municipal permission for the industrial
land use and the water bottling plant. The jurisdiction and contro
over that water bottling plant after Official Plan Amendment, after
Zoning By-law Amendment and municipal site plan control, is the
responsibility, which lies with Health and Welfare Canada and the
labelling of bottled water comes under the Federal Department of
--
- 12 -
, The responsibility for ensuring
Consumer and .corpora~e A~~a~~St rio Ministry of Health with the
safe bottled water w~th e n a, There is quite a procedure
involvement of the local Health.U~~ti approvals for establishing a
after the permit, after the mun~c~pa ,
water bottling plant.
David pryde:
, M name is Dave Pryde and I would
Thank you Mr. Mayor and counc~~. tY the council and the public tha
like to make a small pres7ntat~~n SO Incorporated directors to the
are here plus Gold Mounta~nt s~rtnf 3 Concession 10, Township of
property known as West Par 0 0 ,
oro-Medonte.
Mayor Drury:
Dave, are you r~presenting yourself or?
David pryde:
Yes I am. It will become pretty clear here in a second. By
abutting landowners, myself and Joanne Howatson.
I would like to make it perfectly clear that neither Jo~nne or I ar
experts or authorities on geology or h¥drogeolog¥ and w~ll therefor
have to rely on expertise from others ~n those f~elds. We are
however, the landowners whose property a~uts t~ the northern
boundary of the subject property under d~scuss~on.
starting on page one of the well evaluation proposed bottled wat7r
operation report prepared by Ian D. Wilson, P: Eng. for Gold,S~r~n~
Inc. section 2.0, paragraph (3) "groundwater ~n useful quant~t~es ~
located both within the overburden deposits and to a lesser degree
within the bedrock. The overburden in this area is known to supply
large quantities of good-quality water to wells within the
craighurst-prices Corner corridor. Two large developments on
communal water within the corridor obtain water from the overburden
one the sugarbush development and the other the Horseshoe Valley
complex. An additional, proposed development (Buffalo springs) has
successfully tested a well at 1364 litres per minute over a 61.5
hour period."
The Gold springs well, this is not a quote, it is my own words
again, would now be the fourth (4th), all drawing water from the
same supply. I do not know if this is overkill on a good thing or
not but I have to admit it certainly gives us reason for concern.
Another concern of ours is the lack of an assessment by the Ministr
of Natural Resources on the impact to wetlands both on the property
in questions and our abutting property. We believe that this shoul
be done prior to any further work on or development of the property
We, being one of the closest neighbours to the Gold Springs Propert
are extremely concerned about the negative impact to wildlife and
general public use of the ninth line of Oro-Medonte. There is an
abundance of wildlife which is sure to be disrupted and more than
likely will have to relocate to other habitats.
There are walking areas that families use, including the road sinc
there is very little traffic now. Horses and riders use the ~oad t
access ~he trails to the south of the proposed re-zoning.
Snowmob~lers use the road on a daily bases during the winter for
recreational travel. We believe that you as the Council for the
people, elected by the people must give very serious consideration i
to any activity that would effect or impinge on any of the
aforementioned.
The rights of everyone must be respected and addressed prior to the
proposed endeavour going into operation. The Gold Springs Inc.
owners and partners have rights as do we, one of the closest
- 13 -
neighbours. Gold Springs has a right, if agreement is reached to
commence operation of their proposed facility, to move their produc
and make a profit from it, in our opinion that must not be at the
expense of the neighbours or public at large.
We as neighbours would see the road widened and improved to
accommodate large, heavy trucks obliterating the quiet, treed
country road we now live beside. There is an extremely good change
that three (3) phase hydro line would be required to ~ower t~e
machinery at the site. This would mean the now negot~ated r~ght-of
way across the front of our property would become larger to
accommodate the other power circuits.
We have been told that truck traffic could be as high as thirty (30
per day. That means sixty (6» trucks pass,within o~e-hundred,feet
of our house each day, sharing the road dur~ng certa~n hours w~th
school buses and children when Buffalo springs is developed. Mr.
Burton told us last Tuesday evening at the meeting, that the hours
of operation w~uld have to be agreed upon with the Township, but
thought they would be from one/half hour before sunrise to
approximately seven (7:00) p.m., up to six (6) days a week, we find
it absolutely incredible that you the council members would be
requested to agree to such a disruptive proposal effecting
neighbours, traffic and the environment.
The speed at which said same trucks would travel at is another grea
concern, we were assured that the speed would be kept down but we
all have seen how trucks travel, especially when they are on a
familiar road where there is little traffic other than themselves.
The environment will be effected by the truck traffic, the face of
the earth will be changed forever with the building of a road to
accommodate the trucks. When the trucks are loaded and going out
the road the noise will be greater, the exhaust will be laden with
harmful emissions due to engine speed required at low ground speed.
Shifting and the high torque required to get the loads moving.
Joanne and I bought the former Mitchell property and turned one of
Oro's biggest eye sores into a property that Oro-Medonte Township
should be very proud to say is in their Township. It took literall
hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to accomplish this, with
no help from Gold Springs or the Township. This is to be our
retirement home away from the noise and hustle and bustle of the
city and certainly did not include living on a heavy use truck rout
for up to fourteen (14) hours a day. The tax bill is what we
consider high and is always paid in full, on time to the benefit of
the Township. We all know the value of our property will depreciat
living on a high use truck route as compared to a tranquil, rural
country road. The quality of our life on our own property as well
as our life style will be negatively effected by the operation of
this commercial development with the extensive use of heavy trucks.
We do not see this as either just or fair.
Granted some of the Gold Spring Inc. partners live in the Township,
but definitely not within a stone throw of their proposed truck
route-and plant.
In conclusion, having stated all of the above we still believe that
all the involved parties have rights which must be respected. We
also believe that there can and must be a fair and equatable
negotiated resolve to these concerns without complete disregard for
anyone parties rights either legal or moral. We therefore
respectfully request standing, voice and vote at any negotiations
between Gold Springs Inc. and Oro-Medonte Township that would in an
way effect, infringe on our rights or impose a less provident
atmosphere or environment then we now live in.
Respectfully submitted.
- 14 -
Mayor Drury:
would you leave a copy of that with us please?
David Pryde:
I have several copies.
Bill wilkins:
I would like to know if there is anyone here from MOE?
Mayor Drury:
Is there anyone here from the Ministry of Environment?
believe so.
I don't
Deputy Reeve Dalziel:
Mr. Mayor, it is my understanding afte~ having a discus~ion with Mr
Ian Gray that he found no value in hav~ng a representat~ve here
tonight.
Lillian McConnell:
Two parts to my question. The first, I am unde~ the impression tha
once that application was processed that there ~s ~o reason that Mr
Burton and his colleagues cannot draw water. I ~h~nk that theY,ca~
actually at this point draw water, am I correct ~n that assumpt~on.
Mayor Drury:
Yes they can draw water but I don't know what they are going to do
with it.
Lillian McConnell:
Ok, so say they can draw water and find a market for it, so at this
point, they could operate?
Mayor Drury:
But they would be contravening the Township By-laws.
Lillian McConnell:
Alright, so it is still up to Council.
The second part of my question was when Buffalo Springs was being
assessed the hydrogeological reports included draw down effects on
the neighbouring wells. Albeit, I think they were very inadequatel
done, I have not had anyone on my property and I wonder if anyone I
else has had people on their property asking permission to do a
drawdown test on the residents well which are definitely going to b
effected? Are they going to address that?
Gary Bell:
I think that. is a question that Ian could answer.
hydrogeologist.
Ian Wilson the
Ian Wilson:
When we did the evaluation of the Buffalo Springs well we did it in
accordance with the accepted principals which have been around for
the last 35 - 40 years. We did in fact measure the impact on three
holes on the Buffalo Springs property and also on shallow wells to
the north and to the south of the property. So there was some work
done on the interference. This was contained in the report which
was okayed by the Ministry of Environment.
- 15 -
Lillian McConnell:
Tell me whose wells that you, the shallow wells in particular, whos
wells were monitored.
Ian Wilson:
I can give you the names, I have to look in the report.
Lillian McConnell:
And the depth of their wells please.
Gary Bell:
Mr. Chairman, I will just state for everyone to know that a copy of
this well evaluation has been provided to the municipality and is
available here at the municipal offices. I believe a copy is also
with the MNR and the MOE offices and I am also going to provide to
the municipality a copy of the permit to take water I have been
describing and the jurisdiction over bottled water, so you will hav
all the same information that we have.
Ian wilson:
To answer your question, it was Mr. Ball and Mr. Pryde, they are
both dug well, Mr. Ball's well is 15.85 metres deep and Mr. Pryde's
is 7.55 metres deep.
Mayor Drury:
Any impact on those well or draw down?
Ian Wilson:
No there was nothing recorded over the 72 hour test period.
Lillian McConnell:
Do you think that was adequate, only two wells? I mean there are
farms that draw heavily on those and the produce for their well. M
neighbours have dug wells, the farm beside has dugs wells and they
are all impacted in a very close region to the proposed Gold
Mountain springs. My well was not tested, it is a shallow well.
But I am thinking in terms of I think it is a little restrictive,
you should perhaps expand the draw down tests and let people know
when you are doing it so that there will be a normal function
household, taking your normal drawdown and in accordance with your
drawdown and see what the impact is.
Mayor Drury:
Mr. Wilson could you try to explain to the public why there is
probably any interference with a deep drilled well and a shallow or
dug well please?
Ian Wilson:
Yes, very often, and in this case particularly, there are heavy
formations, clay formations that separate upper water bearing
formations from deep water bearing formations. Now we were pumping
from a depth of 300 odd feet and the chances of causing any
interference with the upper formations is usually very little.
Where you can get a problem is when you have sands and gravels and
granular materials, then going down to a depth and you pump a well,
you can actually effect a shallow well. In this case it wasn't. W
did not find any.
, .
- 16 -
Lillian Mcconnell:
Were the topographies taken into consideration becau~e of the heig
of your land as opposed to some of the la~ds around ~t was quite a
variation of depth, maybe perhaps, not qu~te that deep but you are
at a much higher elevation.
Ian wilson:
Yes, that was taken into consideration. Also, on7 of ~he Buffa~o
springs wells which was used during their eval~a~~~n, ~t was dr~lle
specifically to measure interference, the poss~b~l~ty of
interference when they were doing their tests on their property,
which we were not involved with. One of those wells was measured
and had no response. That was also a shallow well, it was probably
deeper, it was probably deeper than yours. ~he only ~esponse t~at
we got, was from the Buffalo springs product~on well ~tself, wh~ch
is probably at the same depth and also from the top of the bedrock,
which I think there are very, very few wells in the bedrock in this
area.
Deputy Reeve Dalziel:
Thank you Mr. Mayor. My question is for you Mr. wilson and I am
going to quote Mr. pryde first. He indicated that there was an
aquifer going from craighurst to Prices Corners. craighurst is not
too far from Hillsdale and I understand from Mr. Ian Gray that the
Hillsdale Farms Produce Company has also obtained a licence to drawl
water. So I don't know how soon they may be drawing but is the I
proximity of that well going to further impact on the aquifer.
Ian wilson:
No I ~on't think so at all. Those wells are deep and they are high
Cfapac~~y wells, say 400 - 600 gallons a minute, in between, the
ormat~on does not run all the way through because we have done som
drilling in between and found virtually no formation.
Deputy Reeve Dalziel:
I am talking about a additional well, not a irrigation well,
apparentl~ now th7Y have another well similar to this well and the
proposal ~s to sh~p water from that well.
Ian wilson:
Yes, I have heard that their proposal is to ship water. I didn't
know t~a~ they have a new well. I thought they were using one of
the or~g~nal wells.
Deputy Reeve Dalziel:
I don't know that either.
Ian Wilson:
We h~ve very recently drilled in the Hillsdale are
cons~derable depth and that formation that we theaweanldl we drew dow
talkin b t' , ' s you are
, g a ou ~s Just not present. It just isn't there We were
~~r~n~ io obta~n an addit~onal water supply for the viliage of
isn'~ ~h:r:~d we were hav~ng trouble because the formation just
John Liss:
My ~ame is John Liss and I have a question for you Mr. Mayor, if I
may: There has been some concern expressed about the Ministry of
Env~~onment and their permit. Would it be possible for us for you
to ~~nd o~t on our behalf, what the reasoning and the logic is
beh~nd th~s plan. Any reasonable logic. There must be something
\ '
. ,
- 17 -
h d questions concerns the term
there, ~o ca~ ;~~;rb:hf~~e~e ~a~es~~~~d a number times, I would lik
process~~g 0 azardous chemicals or other hazardous
~~,k~~wi~;oi~:~e :~:t~~~ ~here is transportation and storage and us
th~~ mi ht be h~zardous or anything that might b7 considered
h dO~S in the existing legislation in process~ng. My general
azar , t all those comments that are presently
comment IS that ~ supp~r think it is a lousy project. I would
opposition of th~s proJect. I
like it stopped now.
Murray Martin:
Mr. Bell if you would explain the permit ~s ~t isa~~~; ~~: ~:~~it
that is there now is it agric~lt~~er~~e~~~~~~~gt~e la~ds, is there
process is thrOUgthh thgehT~~~s~~~istry ofE~vironment for waterworks
another process rou
certification?
Gary Bell:
No sir. I will go through this again. To my ~nowledg7' the, ,
Ministry of Environment i~ responsible ~or rev~ew and ~nvest~gat~on
of processing an applicat~on for a perm~t to take water. Th~t has
been done and completed and the Ministry has issu7d the perm~t to
take water to Gold Mountain springs for the 909 l~tres, the 200
gallons per minute. That is a permit to take water,from the
aquifer. The next jurisdiction for the water bottl~ng plant that w
have proposed is the municipaliti7s ju~isdicti~n of a,land use
matter involving a industrial des~gnat~on and ~ndustr~al,zone an~ a
site plan, such as I have shown,You he~e, to,al~ow bu~ld~ng perm~ts
if you will, ultimately, or an ~ndustr~a~ bu~ld~ng. That mus~ ~e
proceeded by site plan, proceeded by zon~ng, proceeded by Off~c~al
Plan Amendment. The jurisdiction of the more technical aspects of
bottled water falls to, I will quote this" the legal responsibilit
for safe quality of bottled water, the legal responsibility for
bottled water lies with Health and Welfare Canada" they have
identified divisions of Federal Food and Drug regulations and parts
of Act. The manufacturer is held legally responsible for the safe
quality of bottled water sold to the public and there is informatio
numbers here. A further jurisdiction, the labelling of bottled
water, Federal Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs. A
further jurisdiction, the responsibility for ensuring safe bottled
water lies with the ontario Ministry of Health under section 95 of
the ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act. That section
enables the Lieutenant Governor General to make regulations in
Council governing and prohibiting the procurement, transportation,
handling and sale of water by tank or truck or other portable
container for human consumption requiring the approval of the
Medical Officer of Health to these matters. So there is a very
large Ministry of Health and Health unit involvement in a project 0
this nature and that is why I have sent this information as we got
it to the local Health Unit for their early comments. There is no
to my k~owledge, I specifically checked it out with the Ministry of!
the Env~ronment Approvals Branch, an approval certificate under the
OWRA, under the Ontario Water Resources Act. That is for the
waterworks for public consumption through a municipal water project
Water bottling in a commercial operation follows this procedure
here.
Mayor Drury:
Now I am going to go back to Mr. Liss's question that he originall
asked: Yes I ~ill ask the MOE for a full report'and your other
quest~on was, ~s there any chemical used in processing this water.
The answer is no.
Ted Beaton:
My name is Ted Beaton, 5th Line of Oro. I make a presentation with
regard to the Gold Mountain Springs proposal. I speak against this
--
, .
- 18 -
, d ladies and gentlemen, of the
proposal Mr. Mayor~ Counc~l a~ e amounts of water from the Oro
extraction or pump~ng of ma~s~v I is for the wrong place at th
moraine. I believe that th~s proposa
wrong time and for the wrong reason.
Ted Beaton:
d water The water is always
The water in question comes from groun , s~ow hail or sleet and
on the move, it falls to the earth as ra~n~rtl ~uns off as surface
this precipitation is partly evapo~a~:~, i~to t~e soil is called
water and the ~emainderlth~¡ p~~co ;he protecting of our ground
ground water, Ju~t to c,ar~,i 1 . We must work toward success
water for our ch~ldren ~s v~ a . , Water as a resource is
together through proper land us7 pla~n~nÏt is not regulated by one
primarily regulated by the ~rov~nc~eruis by MNR and ground water is
Ministry. FOtr e~ample't~~~e~~~ewadO not tend to be recognized full
by MOEE Wa er ~ssues , 1 Ps in our
deait with fully by government. There are arge ga
~~~erstanding of the role of ground water and the hydrology and
ecology of the wetlands.
Recent figures on ground wate~ usage goe~ back to 1981 whic~
indicates how much attention ~t ~as rece~ved. In the meant~me,
there has been a rapid increase ~n the number of c~ses of gr~und
water contamination, expensive clean ups of co~tam~nated ~qu~fers
and expensive long term substitute water s~ppl~es. T~ere ~s
inadequate regulation of water taking perm~~s a~ a t~me ~hen ther7
is increasing commercialization and increas~ng ~nterest ~n export~n
water to the USA.
Public and government attitudes in the past, hav7 regarded ground
water resources as unlimited. Therefore, very l~ttle money for
research was given to this resource. Now we find t~at the level~ 0
oceans are rising and the levels of fresh water bod~es are lower~ng
because of clear cutting and/or over usage. Now we find that the
largest aquifer in the middle of central USA has lowered
dramatically probably due to extraction of too much water or massiv
water irrigation programs. Mans intervention has a effect on
ground water.
Government at any level will be unable to solve or even prove the
problems of ground water, without the help and concerns of local
citizen groups.
,
i
I
,
i
Fortunately, there is a growing interest and expertise within II
academia, directed that ground water studies and the training of ,
professionals. Last year a report by the task force on ground watel
resources research and another booklet last year by Environment
Canada on ground water is encouraging.
The residents, that is the citizens of north Oro and Medonte have
had some experience over the past few years with matters of
aggregate extraction and large subdivisions on the Oro moraine wate
shed, which is surrounded by important wet lands. What we don't
need at this time is a proposal for mega pumps to extract massive
amounts of water from that area for an indefinite period of time fo
exportation. Already we have several areas with enormous water
taking along the moraine.
This proposal asks for a rezoning from agricultural to general
industrial and hazard lands. It would appear to me that we would b
opening the door to industrial development, which till now we have
been told, is for recreational and residential use develop~ent alon
the H~rseshoe corridor. I urge that this proposal be denied, that
rezon1ng not be done and that proper land use planning with full
assessment be carried out, not only in this area but in the entire
Oro-Medonte Township and be so incorporated into the new O.P. Than
you. I would also like to ask Mr. Wilson a question. Is it not
true that the deeper the well, the larger the area of influence?
--
- 19 -
Ian Wilson:
t' of how much water comes out. I
No not necessarily so. Theb~~~~ ~~~ the formation down there. The
is' a function of the perm7a ~ ~ Yt Are you going to be submitting
depth is really not thai ~~l~~:~ ~hould respond to that.
your comments, because
Deputy Reeve Dalziel:
uestion was. I would like to
I am trying to remember Wha~h~Ykqyour long list of the controlling
address it to Mr. Bell. 'tI ~n te Your bottling plant, or shoul
government level~hisb~~~d~n~c~~r:hi;h the water is going to,be
we shall we say e ld be considered as a publ~c water
pumped and shipped fr~~'h;~:tt~O~bide by ontario regulations the
works and then,Weg WpolUant in one of our cities such as Orillia. I am
same as a pump~n
just quoting what Mr. Gray commented.
Gary Bell:
I don't think anybody is going to be surprised to ~ear,th~t we have
a difference of opinion from within the MOE., I th~nk ~t ~s
important that we do get to the bottom of th~s and I w~ll unde~take
to explore and establish one answer from the MOE on th~s quest~on.
Deputy Mayor Beard:
The new council will be the one dealing with this. Actuallr, some
of us have already been conferring on this issue ~s to,gett~ng
involved with the Ministry of Environment. At th~s po~nt, for the
record, I would like to state that we do have at least two of the
council members elect in the audience. Mr. Larry cotton and Mr',Ro
Sommers. I am not sure if Neil craig is here. I haven't seen h~m.
Mr. craig is here, he just cannot get into the room.
Deputy Mayor Beard:
Just so you are aware that these people are here and have been
present all the time through the meeting to more or less take notes
and listen in because they will be dealing with it. What I would
ask people to do, who want to be notified of the next action that
council takes on this matter and it is not going to be for a while,
is more or less get together in groups such as rate payers groups
and have one of them or individually, if you like, mail your name
and address to the Clerk and tell them that you would like to be
advised when the action is going to take place and that you are
informed of when Council does debate and work on this issue. I
think that rather than trying to go through the same process we go
through so we don't miss anybody because we know you people are
concerned and we would like to see that so we can notify you. That
is all I have to say at this time on the matter.
Councillor Martin:
Thank you Mr. Mayor. Mr. Bell I ask that you contact Alex Scott of
the Ministry of Environment. He told me the next process after
approval of Council would be the certification to certify the pumps.
So you might want to find out if it is going to take long.
Gary Bell:
I understand and I have seen correspondence to that effect in
another municipality and I was directed to contact the Toronto
Approvals Branch of the Ministry of Environment and this is the
information they provided me. We will deal with that in writing an
put it back in front of the municipality.
- 20 -
Lorne Van sinclair:
I am Lorne Van sinclair and I live in sugarbush and I have a
question for Mr. Bell. As you mentioned in your permit that there
is several conditions but are there any criteria. Are there any
controls, you say the monitoring of the depth of the aquifer b~t is
there any depth that they say to slow down or stop or do anyth~ng.
Are there any controls whatsoever for you to look at?
Gary Bell:
I am going to ask Ian to address that as the hydrogeologist.
Ian wilson:
The permit to take water authorizes you to take that amount of wate
but there are a number of safeguards and one of which is that the
permit holder is not allowed to seriously impact anybody else water
supply. If they do, the water supply has to be restored at the cos
of the permit holder. If you thought or anybody here thought that
they had a problem, if this thing ever goes ahead, and they had a
problem, the first thing they would do is to contact the Ministry 0
Environment, Alex scott in Barrie. You should also notify Gold
Mountain, those are the two people. The Ministry of Environment
will immediately come after Gold Mountain and they would arrange a
meeting and I as their hydrogeologist or somebody else would meet
with the Ministry of Environment at your property and we would try
and determine whether or not your problem is actually due to that
water taking.
Mayor Drury:
Order please, order and respect both please.
Lorne Van Sinclair:
I understand from the last OMB hearing that the moraine really
hasn't been accurately mapped as to where the water really flows
~ndernea~h, so how would you know if the wells say in Sugarbush or
~n Oro H~lls or Horseshoe Valley, how do you know if it is effected
if you don't exactly know how the water flows under there?
Ian wilson:
Well, we know pretty well. We know pretty well and it follows
topography. It flows from the north on this side and flows to the
~outh from the south side. If you are located near Sugarbush for
~nstance, and you hav7 a problem, ,i~ is more than likely suga~bush
but you wou~d be talk~ng to the M~n~stry of Environment and their
hydrogeolog~s~ would be out there and they would be looking at your
p~oblem. I w~ll tell you for a fact, this is an absolute fact, the
w~ll bend over backwards to help you if there is any doubt rather
than to say that there isn't any problem. '
Lorne Van Sinclair:
Why are there not ~ore controls on Gold Mountain? Why is it up to
the people around ~t to find a problem and then report it?
Ian Wilson:
~ell the~e is. There is controls. If, for instance, this
~~f~rmat~o~ tha~ they have to submit on a regular basis to the
M1nlstry, ~f th~s showing, for instance, that the water level in
~hat ~ell ~s go~ng down and continuing to go down, they will step i
~mmed~ately.
, ,
- 21 -
Lorne Van Sinclair:
Well that was my question. Do they have any crit7ria because ther
is nothing mentioned, there is no figures, there ~s no.
Ian Wilson:
well, it is very difficult to put a ~igu~e on it. Butth~f ~~~ys:;
that the water is consistently lower~ng ~n that well, t ~t back
have to cut back and they can cu ~
to them, loo~ guys you tactually lowering the water levels
until such t~me that you are no
Ian wilson:
Everybody is talking about mining and we shoul~ really get one poi
straight it think. We are talking about the m~d-west and ~e,are
talking about northern California and they are, they are m~~~ng th
aquifér. They are taking out far more wat7r out of the aqu~fer do
there and very deep then it is going back ~n and the r7ason for th
is that this is a very dry climate down there. The~e ~s not,
sufficient precipitation, rainfall, melted snow~ go~ng b~ck ~nto t
ground to balance what is coming out. So what ~s happen~~g, s~meo
has mentioned that the water level lowered 140 feet, I th~nk, ~n
this deep well. That is exactly what it ~s, they are mining that
aquifer and eventually those wells are go~ng to g~ dry and, I
eventually that aquifer is going to go,dry. Now ~f we are ~al~~ng
about Canada Canada is a different cl~mate completely. Th~s ~s a
continental humid climate and as you are pumping water out of the
ground, some of it is going back in and in all ~y ex~erience, there
are extremely few aquifers that are actually be~ng m~ned and one of
them, which is a classic example, is London. When London was on
ground water, what happened there is that they pumped during the
summer, they stopped during the winter, the water level didn't
recover, they started the next summer and the water level went down
again. They had big problems. There were a lot of people that the
had to restore their water supplies and eventually they shut down
the wells, that is the Whiteout wells, if anyone knows the area.
That was mining the aquifer. We have no experience with that
happening here at all. Now, I have been involved personally with
most of the wells that have been put in here, certainly all the one
in Horseshoe Valley, the ones in Sugarbush, the development in
between. We have put in wells in Jarratt. We have put in wells in
Bass Lake area. We have no knowledge that the aquifer in any of
those areas is being mined. I really don't think it is going to be
mined in this instance as well. I
I must say that the Ministry of Environment issued this permit and i
this permit is not an easy thing to get. It is a very difficult I
thing to get. Okay, you don't believe me but it is true. We deal I
with the Ministry on a daily basis. We deal with applications for
permits and I tell you, it is a very difficult thing to get. I wil
also tell you that this is all going through the Sudbury office and
they are much stricter in the Toronto, which is central region and
we use to go down there. So I don't know, I cannot obviously talk
to them, but they looked at our report, they looked at the work tha
we have done and they agreed that this was not going to mine the
aquifer, that it is not going to cause a serious problem for people
on wells and they should pump. Now, as I said before, if there are
any problems, the Ministry will step in immediately. It is not up
to th7 ~wners of Gold,Mountain~ i~ is not up to anybody else, excep
the M~n~stry. They w~ll step ~n ~mmediately and they will either
shut,them down, they will blow them down or they will take action
and ~f your well has gone dry, it will be fixed up at no cost to yo
and that, you can check that with the Ministry anywhere you like.
That has been in effect since about 1958 and I was at the Ministry
of Environment in those days. That is when it started.
- 22 -
Joanne Howatson:
lso owner of abutting property with
I am Joanne Howatson and I am a ick uestions. One is, you s
Mr. Pryde. Actually, I ~ave three f~ ourqwell goes dry, they have
that whoever is the perm~t holder't' is what if Mr. Burton sell
to rebuild it or whatever, my,ques ~on 'bl?
, t' Is that Perm~t transferra e.
th~s opera ~on.
Ian wilson:
No it is not.,
Joanne Howatson:
;f there are new owners and our well goes dry?
So what happens ...
Ian wilson:
'ble It ;s the Person that is actually taking th
They are respons~...., 1 It
water and you can't just hand the perm~t over to someone,e ~e.
has to be reapplied for. The person that owns that ~erm~t ~s l
responsible to you. Now if you have a du~ well and 7t goes dry, a ~
if it can't be deepened to your satisfact~on, they w~ll have to
drill you a well and even if they have to go down,to 300 feet~ the
will drill you a well and it won't cost you anyth~ng. ~hey w~ll
hook the well up to your system, they will supply you w~th p~p
which you will need and it will go into your system and that ~s do
by the Ministry.
Joanne Howatson:
The other question is, apparently on September 30th the applicatio
for this permit was presented to the MOE ~orrect? On November,21s
the permit was issued. That is 21 days, ~sn't that a~fully qu~ck. I
Mr. Burton himself was surprised at the speed that th~s happened. I
He said that sometimes it takes could take maybe up to a year. '
Ian wilson:
Yes that is correct. I honestly have no idea why they did that.
The only thing that I can assume is that they were satisfied that
there was not going to be a problem. I have no idea on the length
of the process but that proposal had all the information, looked a
by the Ministry of Environment and then they issued the permit, th
were convinced. There are three things that they look at. One is
that there is going to be no mining of the water. The second thing
they look at is if there no serious interference. If in our repor
we had indicated or shown that there was a potential for serious
interference, they would not have issued the permit or they might
have issued it for half the amount on a trial basis or short term
basis, but they didn't. The other thing, of course that they are
interested in was the quality. Those are the things that they are
interested in and I really can't answer your question. Sudbury
would have to tell you that. But it is true, sometimes it takes a
long time and some times it goes through quickly.
Gary Bell:
Mr. Reeve, may I clarify the timing please because perhaps I wasn't
clear about the nature of applications.
On August 5th, 1994 the permit to take water application was filed
in the Sudbury office. August 4th, that permit was not issued unti
November 21st, some three months and a week or two later. The
September 30th application I spoke of was to the municipality for I
the Official Plan Amendment and the Zoning By-law Amendment for thel
industrial plant. I
- 23 -
Joanne Howatson:
We are still only talking three months, from August 4th to November
21st.
Mayor Drury:
I don't think anyone would doubt that it was very quick.
has been told.
Everyone
Joanne Howatson:
The other question I have is for Mr. Bell. In your presentation yo
said that you feel that traffic will not be effected on Horseshoe
Valley Road. How do you justify 60 trucks a day plus "smaller
vehicles not effected by traffic on that road.
Gary Bell:
Our traffic engineer has looked at the traffic added ~y the Gold
Mountain springs project against the background traff~c now and
expected on the Horseshoe Valley Road. There has also,been,t~e C~l
Sherman Township review of traffic along there and the~r op~n~on ~s
that this level of additional traffic is not expected to create the
problems given that the County is dealing with that site line
concern.
Joanne Howatson:
What about the traffic affect, there are children living in that
area. Sixty tankers going up and down the 9th of Oro.
Gary Bell:
I believe that the Cole Sherman work for the municipality and our
traffic engineers preliminary work considered all of those matters
together and the 60 tankers, I want to clarify, the trucking
operation is to be potentially, in the early stage of the project,
Phase 1 as I have shown the building there, about 10 trips per day
out or 20 total trips and with an early bottling operation, an
additional 5 trips out for an additional 10 trips, that is a total
of 30 trips in the first phase per day. Ultimately, there will be
potential for 6 bulk trucks and 15 bottle trucks out and back per
day and that is a total of 42 trips.
Joanne Howatson:
Whether it is a bottling truck or a tanker, I don't think anyone
really ~ares, ~t is a truck. That is still 45 trucks a day going
and com~ng, go~ng up and down Horseshoe Valley Road. I drive schoo
bus in this area and I know how the trucks go up and down the road
and I can't justify it and I don't think anyone else can.
Mayor Drury:
This public meeting has been going on for an hour and a half now an
I am going to ask that you keep your questions very distinct and
clear.
Councillor Dickie:
I have a questi~n th~ough to Mr. Wilson. This is your report made
on A~gus~ 2nd, ~~ th~s the ~nly report that was submitted with your
appl~cat~on or d~d you subm~t something else if you did will the
Council be receiving a supplementary.' ,
Ian Wilson:
No, that is the only proposal that was submitted.
--
, ,
- 24 -
Gwen sutherland:
Gwen sutherland from sugarbush. I just wondered if you could answe
with a yes or no the permission that has been given for water to be
drawn right now, the use of the water, right noW, is it just
agricultural because the land is agricultural?
Gary Bell:
The proposal is..
Gwen sutherland:
No, No. I just want to know if that is the way it is right now.
You have permission to draw so many gallons of water for what use? I
Is it only agricultural at the moment? Yes or no?
Gary Bell:
It is not agricultural, it is a food...
Gwen sutherland:
No, but the use of the water that you draw.
to right now? with your permission.
What use can you put i
Gary Bell:
That permit is not a permit for use, it is a permit to take water
from the aquifer.
Gwen sutherland:
Okay but what are you going to do with it.
know.
That is what I want to
Gary Bell:
They are going to put in trucks.
Gwen sutherland:
If you get this permission. Right now, ;f you t
g d h ~ ake it from the
roun w at can you do with it? Right now.
Gary Bell:
Put it in trucks.
Brian Greasley:
I don't think you have asked a quest;on th
Yes or b' ~ at can be answered
no as~s. The water is go;ng to bon a
~ e bottled..
(unknown)
Not now. Right now. What is the permit for?
Gwen Sutherland:
Can you put it in t k
trucks. Today? ruc s today and drive away with water in the
Brian Greasley:
Yes.
~
- 25 -
Gary Bell:
Mr Greasley is the solicitor for Gold Mounta~n springs. He has
'l' d that the Gold Mountain springs perm~t to take wa~er may
~~~da~~: by putting that water in the bulk trucks and leav~ng the
site.
(unknown)
On agricultural land?
Mayor Drury:
op;n;on and there could be many legal opinions.
This is a legal ~ ~
Deputy Mayor Beard:
Mr. Greasley, you expressed the opi~ion tha~ it could be legal~y
sold now, that is a commercial perm~t I bel~eve on non-commerc~al
property. Can it be legally sold as a commercial use.
Brian Greasley:
If that water is put in trucks and trucked to Toronto (inaudible)
ordinary water out of the ground (inaudible)
Mayor Drury:
If I might Deputy Mayor Beard, I think ~e are getting int~ a
definition situation here whereas Counc~l are here to dec~de or hea
about it tonight. If in fact Gold Mountain springs started drawing
water tomorrow the municipality has to make a decision whether or
not to enforce'the By-law as they see fit and that is where we,have
a legal opinion on one side and a legal opinion on the other s~de.
Please speak up.
Brian Greasley:
My opinion from speaking to my clients is that the Company now has
the MOE permit to draw water. They are entitled to draw water.
They are not entitled to build anything out there but they are
entitled to draw water from the ground source and subject to
to sell it or do what they want to do with it. My
clients won't take my advice, they will not pump. They don't want
to pump because they all want to make sure that what ever they do i
appropriate it is legal and they really don't want to upset anybody
they simply want to get on with a commercial venture but when they
get on with it, they want to do it properly.
Mayor Drury:
We have five minutes left. Gary Thiess, you had a comment?
Gary Thiess:
First of all, I have two letters here, one from myself I am a
resident of shoreline Lake Simcoe with a 90' deep drilled well
whose cool contents are very precious to me. No less precious are
the private wells and their contents in the area of the commercial
water extraction site. A number of wells were identified at the
last public meeting as dug wells. These wells have served their
resident owners over the years and although the M.O.E. refuses to
acknowledge them they could be the first to be impacted by a
sustained drawdown. Who will answer for those people? If council
did not have a concern for private water systems they should be
concerned for the public systems that they and they alone are
responsible for. Any hesitation in the water pressure at Horseshoe
or Sugarbush would hold this entire municipality responsible throug
its elected council.
~
- 26 -
If this proposal is to go forward and the Ministry of the
Environment apparently feels that it should, then Oro-Medonte shoul
request the funding necessary to begin an Environmental Assessment.
Surely, the M.O.E. the provincial protector of all aquatic life in
our lakes and rivers wouldn't holdback when the human environment i
concerned.
An E.A. might cost, if property done, $100,00 or more, a smal~
expense to be written off over the years of successful operat~on.
An E.A. would address all of the concerns of the mistrusting
population and put the responsibility of the decision on the
shoulders of people who are truly qualified. After all, council we
are not paying you to be super intelligent just honest with the tax
payers.
Please ask Mr. Burton if ~ load restrictions on rural roads wouldn'
get him to participate in the upgrading of the 7th concession like
the other major users have agreed to do.
Please ask the Ministry of the Environment why municipal water
systems require chlorination and daily monitoring but in a tank or
bottle and a few miles down the road everything is ok.
From the President of the association in which our homeowners in th
area that I live in, the President is Lorne Carson.
We, the residents of the Moon Point Home Owners' Association object
to the proposal that would see a commercial water well developed in
the rural environs of Oro-Medonte.
The development requires a zoning change which should require
professional input, be it hydrology, engineering traffic studies
etc. People who live close to this proposal deserve professional
consultation and guarantees that the life style they bought into
will not be significantly impacted. This does cost money. The
proponent, whose only investment is a 360 foot pipe in the ground
could~ without any more involvement, sell the property and
figuratively and literally hand Oro-Medonte out to dry.
In the November 22nd meeting, Mr. Burton indicated that he had a
commercial permit to take 200,000 gallons of water a day, issued by
the Ministry of the Environment. What testing, if any, did they do
Are they prepared to appear? to respond, to be answerable to the
concerns of area residents or is this another attempt to download
the provincial responsibility onto the municipal government. If
this is the case, we the taxpayers of Moon Point, who don't impact
on the infrastructure of this municipality any greater than any
other, resent that the significant costs that should be attributabl
to this project would be borne by anyone but the proponents. Signed
Lorne Carson.
Mayor Drury:
I am going to allow 2 more questions.
Ian wilson:
Just very briefly, the Ministry of Environment does in fact protect
dug wells. So they would be treated just like any other wells.
(unknown)
Are they identified on any maps of any area.
Ian Wilson:
No they are not, unless, they were bored. If they were bored, whic
is virtually the same as a dug well, the record has to be submitted
to the Ministry. Dug wells, which are hand dug or dug with a
backhoe, don't have to be. But they are protected.
, . '
..
, .
- 27 -
Councillor Martin:
Through to Mr. Bell. (inaudible) any person with water for export
(inaudible) Gold Mountain (inaudible)
Gary Bell:
I am going to ask Bob Schultz to address that. The potential for
export of the water from Gold Mountain over to the U.S. I believe i
what he is asking.
Mayor Drury:
Is that in bulk export?
Gary Bell:
Bulk export to the U.S.
Bob Schultz:
I have no idea I am not in sales.
Robert Duncan:
I am here on behalf of my family and because I live within a
and a half of the proposed well on the corner of the 9th and
Lake Sideroad. My name is Robert Duncan and I belong to the
Fish and Game Conservation Club and the Orillia Fish and
Conservation Club has 90 acres of land kitty corner to my property.
This property is fed from springs and we feel that it is very close
to this project and we feel that there is a problem.
I have a letter here and a lot of the things I have mentioned so fa
have been brought up by other people and I have some questions that
I would like to be considered before anything like this ever goes
ahead. Some of these questions have been asked before but I think
they are worth asking again and I hope that you people will listen
to them.
mile
Bass
Orilli
What, if any, research has been done on the Oro Moraine concerning
water? I am not just talking about the local area around the well
head, I am talking about the whole moraine and that is a large area
I think that you as Council members should be thinking about the
whole of the Township and not just this small little area that you
were talking about.
If there are these studies, I would like to know about them and I
would like to know who paid for them?
I would like to know who benefits from this project and I would lik
to know what benefits there are for the community and also what are
the costs for the community?
I would like to know what guarantees there are for the wells of
nearby homes? Now that has already been answered, I think, but thi
one hasn't. How big an area does this guarantee cover? How
difficult is it to prove that your well has been harmed by this one
Our club and a lot of people in Orillia dealt in 1990 with the
incinerator project that was proposed for Orillia. One of the
things that came from that, and it was a significant thing, was tha
the proponents of that said that you would have to prove if your
property was contaminated or if the water was contaminated. In Lak
Simcoe, you would have prove that a particular molecule, this has
come from a Public Meeting, came from the stack. Now I am trying t
bring that back to this. How would you prove that your well was
affected unless you put dye down the well, I don't know what kind 0
determinology or the problems would be for that one but it is a
question.
l.
{ ,
,
- 28 -
Robert Duncan:
\ ' ' 'ect? Would it be up to the local
Who would be monitor~~g th~s pro] or'would there be someone
people to monitor the~r own ~ells les wells checking depths and
constantly monitoring, check~ng peop nsible f;r enforcing these
things like that. w~ol~~Ulda~~u~e~;~ernment Agencies here, a agenc
guarantees. We are a ~ng t de end on This is another
and I guess that is what we have, 0 tr~nSferr~d to a new owner if
question about the,guarantees be~n~stion that I don't have down her
the water compan~ ~s sold. onet~~es the water out for a number of
is what happe~s ~f the company the water level goes down and
years, ten, f~fteen, twenty a~d t Who is responsible for all the
suddenly the company goes ban rup . munici ality or the
well~ aroundItt~~~7t b~o~~et~:;p~:a~h;~eare baniruPt because they
prov~nce.
will be gone.
Who is going to be paying for the new construction that will be
the 9th Concession and on the Horseshoe Valley Road.
necessary on h h ve had their
Now I realize that some of the developers w 0 a ,
ro'ects okayed in the last little while wil~ pro~ably ~e putt~ng
~om~thing into it but is there going to be, ~f th~s proJect goes
ahead, is there going to be fees asked for maybe a,water tax, for
example, per gallon or whatever to pay for road ma7ntenance and roa
construction. I understand that the grave~ compan~es are suppose t
be doing in certain areas so I d~n't know,~f that has ever been don,
with a similar project but that ~s someth~ng that should be
considered.
will there be a bond collected ahead of time so that the local
taxpayers I am talking about the situation when a company goes
bankrupt ~ill there be a bond collected ahead of time? Now I am no
talking about a tax on the water to keep.or m~int~in the road for
example, I am talking about a bond that ~~ ma~nta~ned to ensure t~a
the local taxpayers are not caught in pay~ng for the well, or pay~n
for peoples wells that have gone dry.
There is another group here that we have not talked about too much
and that is the protection of the creeks and wetlands, the surface
water around them and I know a lot of the creeks that go into Bass
Lake start from springs. I know there is water run off on the
surfaces around it. What kind of monitoring of those springs is
there going to be? Who is going to be responsible for that and who
is going to pay for it?
In conclusion, the people of Oro-Medonte depend on the council they
eiect to protect the long term interests of the township and its
people. Public interest must be put before self interest.
Ian Wilson:
I think that you have asked a number of good questions and I think
it is going to be very difficult to try and answer them all and I
presume that we will get a copy of your queries and that we will
have an opportunity to answer them.
I should tell you that there is no limits on how far away your well
is from the production well if you think you have a problem. The
other,thin~ that I ~ould like to emphasize very, very much, this is
not l~ke a~r pollut~on and I don't know much about it but you don't
have to really prove that your problem is due to people taking
water. The Ministry of Environment, I will say this over and over
again, the Ministry of Environment leans over backwards for the
P7rson. So, if there is any doubt in the Ministry of Environment's
m~nd that your well has been impacted, they will go to the permit
holder.
The other question that you brought up was, okay, what happens if
they draw the water table way down and then they quit and who is
going to pay for what. The Ministry of Environment won't allow tha
because they have to submit their records all the time and as I sai
ü ~
.
.
- 29 -
Ian wilson:
eason and I know it won't happ
before, if they find that for som7 ~ng the aquifer, they will stop
but if for some r7ason they ~~:tm~~me or period. I know you had
them long befor7 ~t gets t~ that you do get them up to me to
many more quest~ons and I ope
answer them.
Mayor Drury:
allow this lady one quick, short question.
I am going to
connie cochrane:
t there is not much there, one page.
This is a statemen ,
Mayor Drury:
stuff that has been said before?
Are you reading
connie Cochrane:
No.
Mayor Drury:
Seriously?
connie Cochrane:
Seriously.
My name is connie Cochrane, this ~s a ~etter to,the Mayor and
Council of both the outgoing and ~ncom~ng Counc~ls from myself and
husband, Jack Segul. Re: Proposed Gold ~ountain,s~rings, Lot,3,
Conc. 10, former Oro Township. Once aga~n the c~t~zens of th~s are
are forced into a position of having to speak out for the
enforcement of the Township plan and zoning. It has been many year
since we have felt we could live without continually looking over
our shoulders for fear of losing our rural lands and lifestyle.
Fortunately, as a result of the recent municipal election, the
residents have served notice. Oro-Medonte does not stand for
rampant development, with no regard for the environment and existin
zoning and we are confident that development that is found to be
acceptable will be directed to appropriate areas and will be
conducted under a vigilant eye. The Township plans do not exist to
be skirted.
That this proposal has been put forward under a lame duck council i
shameful. We do not have the time for this. We do not have the
money for this and one has to wonder, in whose best interests it is
that this application was accepted immediately before an election.
Councils are elected not only for their platforms but to show the
moral and ethical fibre required to stand up for what is right
according to the wishes of the electorate and the Township plan.
We do not have the documentation or the expertise to know whether
the designated aquifer that Gold Mountain Springs is proposing to
use can sustain the pumping that has been currently permitted. Som
serious arithmetic needs to be done for starters. As of November
25th, the local office of the Ministry of Environment was not even
aware of all the permits that had been issued for this aquifer.
Further, runaway sales of bottled water and water filters only
testify to wide spread recognition of an environmental crisis.
Although Canada is blessed with 9% of the worlds fresh water, not
much of it is drinkable. The Great Lakes system, which supplies
most of Ontario and Quebec, put 350 persistent toxic compounds on
tap. From the U.S. side alone, industries dump 24 million kilogram
of toxic waste a year directly into the water. Half of those toxin
.. ,
[.
.
"
\.
- 30 -
connie cochrane:
are suspected of causing birth defects, 15% are cons~dered
carcinogenic. The report on Great Lakes water qu~l~ty, put out b
the International Joint Commission, states that "d~rect ground wat
discharge to the lake basin is thought to be significant. Ground
water contamination by persistent toxic substances, such as
chlorinated solvents, pesticides and radio nucleo~s has bee~ '
identified in many basin locations". Therefore, ~f our aqu~fer ~s
as pure as the Gold Mountain springs people say it is, we should b
happy, we should be proud and we should be doing whatever it ~ake~
to protect it at whatever the cost but we should not be truck~ng ~
out of here for the sake of anyones short term financial gain. In
light of the problems in the Great Lakes, we certainly cannot look
to Georgian Bay as an alternate source for drinking water, should
the aquifer be depleted.
Sales of bottled water also confirm the gullibility of consumers a
the shallowness of ecological awareness. Pesticides can poison
rural springs as easily as Great Lakes and filters don't catch the
sneakiest chemical culprits.
The trade of water is also environmentally costly. It drains
aquifers that were centuries in the making and burns up gas in
delivery. Designer water is a personal solution that doesn't work
for individuals and doesn't build toward changes in society or the
water table.
with the recent amalgamation of our two Townships, all development
should be frozen until we have a new Township Plan with full input
from the residents.
~s wel~, the partners of Gold Mountain springs may have all the
~ntent~ons and though our aquifer may have some of the best water
~he world~ thi~ pr~posal is ill timed, ill located and quite likel
~ll co~ce~ved ~n l~ght of the present and future needs of this
Townsh~p.
Mayor Drury:
That ~ill conclude t~e meeting. Anyone that has any further
mat7r7al ~hat,theY,w7sh to bring forward to send it to the
mun~c~pal~ty ~n wr~t~ng as soon as possible please.
The,Mayor ~n,clo~ing the meeting, thanked those in attendance for
the~r part~c~pat~on and advised that Council would consider all
~~t~e~~ ~~fore,reaching a d7c~sion. He then advised those present
a ~ ey w~sh to be no~~f~ed of the passing of the pro osed B -
law, they should leave the~r name and address with the Cle~k. y
MOTION NO.1
Moved by Beard, seconded by Dalziel
~:e~~ ~es~l~e~ that this Special Public Meeting of Council P-29/94
p.m. ar 0 3, Conc. 10, formerly Oro), now be adjourned @ 9:15