Environmental Review Tribunal
Tribunal de l’environnement
ISSUE DATE:
June 26, 2015
CASE NO.:
14-092
PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER section 41 of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993, S.O. 1993, c. 28, as amended
Appellant:
Citizens Against Melrose Quarry
Instrument Holder:
C.H. Demill Holdings Inc.
Respondent:
Director, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
Subject of appeal:
Permit to Take Water from Long’s Quarry Sump issued under section 34.1 of the Ontario Water Resources Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.40, as amended.
Reference No.:
7742-9E9TGN
Property Address/Description:
Lot 6, Concession 3
Municipality:
Township of Tyendinaga
Upper Tier:
County of Hastings
ERT Case No.:
14-092
ERT Case Name:
Citizens Against Melrose Quarry v. Ontario (Environment and Climate Change)
Heard:
May 19-22, 25-26, 2015 and June 16, 2015 in Belleville, Ontario
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel
Citizens Against Melrose Quarry
Richard D. Lindgren and Joseph F. Castrilli
C.H. Demill Holdings Inc.
Tony Fleming
Director, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change
Andrea Huckins and Sarah Kromkamp
DECISION DELIVERED BY HUGH S. WILKINS
DECISION
1The appeal is allowed in part, with reasons to follow.
2Permit to Take Water 7742-9E9TGN, dated June 27, 2014, is amended to include the provisions set out in Appendix A to this Decision.
Appeal Allowed in Part
Permit Amended
“Hugh S. Wilkins”
HUGH S. WILKINS
MEMBER
Appendix A - Amendments to Permit to Take Water 7742-9E9TGN
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Environmental Review Tribunal
A constituent tribunal of Environment and Land Tribunals Ontario
Website: www.elto.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-866-448-2248
Appendix A
Amendments to Permit to Take Water 7742-9E9TGN
Permit to Take Water 7742-9E9TGN, dated June 27, 2014 (“the PTTW”), is amended as follows:
- Section 3.2 and Table "A" of the PTTW are amended in the following manner:
(a) row 1 of Table “A” is amended by deleting the number 3,945,600 from the "Max. Taken per Day (liters)" column and replacing that number with the number 3,000,000;
(b) row 1, column "Source Name/Description", of Table “A” is amended by inserting an asterix immediately after the text in parentheses and adding text immediately after Table "A" that reads, "* water takings after the spring snow melt has concluded in any calendar year may only proceed at this volume and for this duration if the discharge is permitted by the Environmental Compliance Approval";
(c) row 3 of Table “A” is amended by deleting the number 164,400 from the "Max Taken per Day (liters)" column and replacing that number with the number 50,000;
(d) a new paragraph is inserted immediately after Table "A" that reads,
"3.3 Where the Permit Holder is advised by the Quinte Conservation Authority of a low-water advisory, the Permit Holder shall only take an amount of water each day equal to the amount of precipitation received at the site in the preceding day. The calculation of the amount of precipitation received at the site for purposes of this provision shall be determined by the Permit Holder based on its on-site precipitation monitor and the area of the site”;
(e) the final row "Total Taking" in Table “A” is amended to read "3,002,250”.
- The following new paragraphs shall be inserted immediately after paragraph 4.3 of the PTTW:
“4.4 Immediately prior to commencing dewatering for the first time in any calendar year, the Permit Holder shall:
a) obtain a representative sample of water from the quarry sump and have that sample analyzed for all parameters listed at paragraph 4.3.3 in the approved monitoring program;
b) document the volume of water present in the quarry;
c) confirm the volume of anticipated dewatering; and
d) measure the water levels in the three (3) representative wells identified in the monitoring program.
4.5 During dewatering that occurs to remove snow melt and runoff during the spring, the Permit Holder shall monitor the quarry for groundwater seepage and record any observations of seepage.”
The existing paragraph 4.4 of the PTTW shall be re-numbered “4.6” and the number “4.3” in the third line of that paragraph shall be changed to “4.5”.
The following new paragraphs shall be inserted immediately after paragraph 5.3 of the PTTW:
5.4 No later than September 30, 2015, after consultation with Citizens Against Melrose Quarry (“CAMQ”), the Permit Holder shall prepare amendments to the Contingency Plan that are to the satisfaction of the Director establishing compliance mechanisms and setting out additional measurable trigger mechanisms; and the Contingency Plan shall be amended accordingly;
5.5 No later than September 30, 2015, the Permit Holder shall prepare amendments to the PTTW that are to the satisfaction of the Director setting out water conservation measures to be taken at the site and requiring that a water-use audit to be undertaken at the site; and the PTTW shall be amended accordingly.
- Schedule “A” of the PTTW is amended by incorporating the following amendments to the Contingency Plan prepared by Oakridge Environmental Ltd., as provided in a letter to the Director, Section 34, and dated March 19, 2014 (“the Contingency Plan”), as follows:
(a) Paragraph 1.1 shall read:
“A ‘trigger event’ occurs where any of the following occur:
any unusual change in aesthetic water quality (colour, taste, odour) reported by a well owner in the vicinity of the quarry;
exceedances of a chemical parameter beyond the normal range of variability with respect to its baseline condition;
exceedances of a parameter above any applicable standard or objective, or as provided in an ECA as determined through monitoring;
sudden occurrence of non-potable conditions (i.e. bacteria or chemical); and
a decline in the static (i.e. “at rest”) well water level, exceeding 20% below the normal range of variation as determined by monitoring, not including normal seasonal variations.”
(b) Paragraph 1.2 shall read:
“In the event of a reported claim that a trigger event has occurred or where the monitoring program identifies a trigger event has occurred, the Permit Holder (or delegate) shall immediately undertake the following:”
[The numbered contingency measures remain un-amended]
- The monitoring program, dated April 30, 2012, as described in Item 1 of Schedule “A” to the PTTW, shall be amended by including the following:
(a) prior to dewatering for the first time in any calendar year, the Permit Holder shall prepare a dewatering plan that shall include:
the anticipated commencement date of dewatering;
the anticipated volume of accumulated water in the quarry;
the anticipated length of time dewatering will take; and
a communication protocol to advise CAMQ of the plan.
(b) during any period of water takings that exceed eight (8) hours per day (e.g., spring melt or storm), the mandated manual private well monitoring will be increased from monthly to weekly;
(c) three (3) representative wells in close proximity to the quarry will be instrumented with programmable water level measuring and recording devices (dataloggers) which will collect water level data every 20 minutes;
(d) the list of representative wells to be instrumented shall be agreed upon by the Permit Holder’s consultant, MOECC and CAMQ’s consultant, and will be completed expeditiously;
(e) prior to commencement of 24-hour pumping, the representative wells referred to above will be sampled and analysed for the parameters mandated by the existing monitoring and those data will be provided to the well owner(s) to facilitate comparison should a trigger event occur; and
(f) all data will be provided to the MOECC and CAMQ in a timely fashion after the spring dewatering has concluded.