Community Liaison Committee for Shoemaker Gravel Pit

Ric Holt, 24 Oct 2003

Given below is the description of the Community Liaison Committee that was established for the Shoemaker Pit, Pilkington Township, near Elora, Ontario, as a part of the licensing of that pit.

The Shoemaker Pit is an extension of the previously existing Bowman Pit. This committee was established as a part of the Ontario Municipal Board negotiated settlement, between neighbours and the Murray Group (the operator), leading to the licensing of this pit in year 2000. More information on the negotiation and the Shoemaker pit can be found in here,

The following paragraphs appear on page 2 (Operational Plan) of the site plans for the Shoemaker Pit and legally create this committee.

COMMUNITY LIAISON COMMITTEE

Within one month after license approval, the operator shall establish a community liaison committee. The purpose of the community liaison committee is to provide a forum to share information and discuss the Murray Group Shoemaker pit operations and how it affects local residents.

The committee shall be composed of up to 3 residents living in the vicinity of the pit complex and up to 2 representatives of the operator. The committee shall meet twice a year. Any two committee members can give notice of a special meeting to address an issue or issues that have arisen between meetings and requires immediate attention. The number of special meetings shall be limited to a maximum of 6 per year.

The operator shall deliver to the residents' designate, at the same time as it is first provided to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of the Environment or the Township of Centre Wellington, as the case may be copies of the following information.

7 All noise measurements, periodic audits, if any, and reports required by the operational plan under the heading Noise Attenuation Measures;

7 Advanced notification of any large-job exemption to the 300,000 tonne pit complex limit;

7 The groundwater monitoring results;

7 Advanced written notice of the date and number of hours of any extension in the operating hours for the pit, including any proposed extension of hours over the five day limit established in the operational plan notes;

7 The Annual Compliance Report that is submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources; and

7 Any proposed changes to the site plan or site plan conditions or site plan notes, by copy of the operator's letter and all accompanying documentation, to the MNR requesting such change(s).

The complete site plans for the Shoemaker Pit, including the above paragraphs are publicly available from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; contact the Aggregate Resources Officer (Mr. Warren Knight) in Clinton, Ontario, warren.knight@mnr.gov.on.ca.

Postscript

Writing from the perspective of October 2003, this committee has been highly effective in promoting better relations between the pit operators and the neighbourhood. The pit has met twice a year, as is required, and has served its stated role. In this era of little enforcement of pit regulations on the part of the Ministry of Natural Resources, this committee has served as a local whistle blowing forum, with the operator listening to concerns. In this era of little enforcement, enforcement de facto devolves the local level, and such a committee allows this enforcement to be effective. Conversely, without this clear point of local citizen involvement, the complaint process, flowing through an overworked and too often ineffective MNR bureaucracy, leads to frustration and confrontation. The meetings have sometimes been heated, as the neighbours confronted the operator with complaints, etc., but this type of meeting has eventually lead to an adjustment of the operation of the pit(s) and the expectations of the neighbours which has lead to an increasingly mutually compatible relationship.

This mechanism, a legally constituted liaison committee, is highly recommended for other licenses for aggregate pits and quarries.