New rules are being proposed for aggregate extraction on agricultural land

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

Aggregate extraction companies wanting to operate on prime agricultural land will have to complete agricultural impact studies if a proposed change to the Aggregate Resources Act moves ahead.

Currently developers aren’t required to complete such studies.

The change, which defines prime farmland as Class 1-3 lands, is being proposed as part of the Ontario government’s review of the Aggregate Resources Act. The proposal is available for comment until Dec. 15.

Ontario Federation of Agriculture spokespeople are scratching their heads as to just what the proposal will mean for agriculture. That there would be an impact if the change were implemented, there is no doubt — what’s unknown is whether the impact will be positive or negative.

“Our concern is once the soil is taken away, it’s very difficult to reconstruct the farmland, says Neil Currie, the organization’s general manager. “We have serious concerns with taking away farmland for aggregate.”

photo: Don McCabe

OFA President Don McCabe says the federation welcomes the concepts outlined in the government’s proposal document. But “it’s a proverbial devil in the details item.”

The federation recognizes the aggregate industry is necessary for the province. However, “we have to make sure we’re exhausting aggregate extraction from lands that aren’t as productive” for farming, he notes.

The proposal will also require developers seeking licences to locate aggregate pits or quarries on farmland in agricultural use but not in prime agricultural areas to complete a pre-extraction statement outlining the agricultural capability of the soil. That requirement will apply to operations extracting more than 20,000 tonnes annually.

All required reports related to farmland would have to be prepared by qualified experts, the proposal says.

Ted Wigdor, chief executive officer of the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, says the government’s proposed changes aren’t the final word on the Act’s review. “Anything in the paper is subject to further discussion and we still have to see what the legislation will actually say.”

The non-profit association is based in Mississauga and represents more than 280 sand, gravel and crushed stone producers and suppliers in Ontario. They provide about 164 million tonnes of aggregate used in the province annually.

In a February article in the association’s magazine, Avenues, writer George Lourenco, resources manager at Capital Paving Inc., says some of the best agricultural fields have some of the largest and highest quality sand and gravel beneath their soils. Still, the amount of aggregate extraction facilities located on farmland is small, the article says, noting of the 12 million acres of Class 1-3 farmland in southern Ontario aggregate facilities occupy just 84,000 acres.

Wigdor says even though it’s too soon to say how the proposal calling for farmland impact studies will affect the association’s members, “there are potentially some merits to this requirement.”

On the plus side, the association’s members are doing some really good work “with respect to agricultural land rehabilitation. These agricultural impact assessements will provide greater information by which to work” and help members to better plan the rehabilitation of farmland once pit or quarry operations cease.

The possibility of added time and costs for the application could be “an area of concern,” for developers Wigdor says, noting currently some applications can take about 12 years to complete.

Aggregate is material such as sand, gravel and rock used to construct roads, bridges, subway systems and buildings. The proposal says aggregate is extracted from pits where loose material, such as sand and gravel, are removed; solid bedrock, such as limestone and granite, is extracted from quarries.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry manages Ontario’s aggregate resources. BF