Reid v. Hastings (County), 2024 CanLII 9765

Ontario Land Tribunal

Tribunal ontarien de l’aménagement du territoire

ISSUE DATE: February 06, 2024

CASE NO(S).: OLT-22-003899

PROCEEDING COMMENCED UNDER subsection 17(24) of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 13, as amended.

Appellant: Douglas Reid

Applicant: Upper Canada Stone

Subject: Proposed Official Plan Amendment

Description: To amend the Official Plan designation of the subject lands from the Rural and Waterfront designation to the Extractive (Active) designation to permit the establishment of a Class A Category 4 quarry

Reference Number: OPA 3

Property Address: 6 Scotch Settlement Road

Municipality: Township of Madoc

OLT Case No: OLT-22-003899

OLT Case Name: Reid v. Hastings (County)

Heard: January 23, 2024, in writing

APPEARANCES:

Parties	Counsel/Representative
Douglas Reid	Spencer Putnam
Upper Canada Minerals Inc.	John Ewart
County of Hastings	Jennifer Savini

DECISION DELIVERED BY C.I. MOLINARI AND ORDER OF THE TRIBUNAL

Link to Order

INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND

1This Decision and Order determines a Written Motion for Discovery (“Motion”) filed by Douglas Reid (“Moving Party” / “Appellant”) in relation to an appeal filed against the decision of the County of Hastings (“Respondent” / “County”) to approve Official Plan Amendment No. 3 (“OPA 3”) to the County Official Plan (“COP”) submitted by Upper Canada Minerals Inc. (“Respondent” / “Applicant”), for the property legally described as Part of Lot 10, Concession 4, and municipally known as 6 Scotch Settlement Road (“Property”), in the Township of Madoc.

2The purpose and effect of OPA 3 is to amend the COP designation of the Property from ‘Rural’ to ‘Extractive’ to facilitate the expansion of a quarry by permitting the establishment of a ‘Class A (Category 4 (quarry) - Above Water’ quarry under the Aggregate Resources Act. The proposed licensed extraction area is approximately 22.63 hectares in size.

3The County approved OPA 3 on April 28, 2022, and the Appellant filed the appeal on May 19, 2022.

4The Applicant submitted a related Zoning By-law Amendment application (“ZBA”) to rezone the Property from ‘Rural (RU) Zone’ to ‘Mineral Extractive Exception No. 4 (MX-4) Zone’. The ZBA is currently not before the Tribunal and, as such, this Decision and Order relates only to the appeal related to OPA 3.

THE MOTION

5The Moving Party filed a Motion Record complete with a Notice of Motion dated November 9, 2023, seeking an Order pursuant to Rule 9.1 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules”) that Upper Canada Minerals Inc. “provide the Appellant with certain information and records relating to the existing quarry’s hydrogeology and permit a site visit”.

6The relief sought by the Moving Party in the Notice of Motion consisted of:

1. An order requiring Upper Canada to serve on the Appellant no later than thirty (30) days following the issuance of the order, a response to the following requests for information and such documents as are requested and in the possession or control of Upper Canada or its consultants:

1. Please confirm if there is a Water Well Record for Well W-1. If yes, please provide.

2. Please confirm if there are any more recent water level monitoring data (than Spring 2021) available for well W-1. If yes, please provide.

3. Please confirm if one or more new (since June 2021) wells have been installed. If yes, please provided the borehole logs, a map showing location, well construction details, and all available monitoring data.

4. Please provide all water level monitoring and water quality sampling data from wells W-1, W-2, and W-3 on the existing quarry site plan.

5. Please provide an enlarged annotated version of Figure 6 of the April 2017 Oakridge Environmental Report, and for each datum point include the groundwater elevation and the information that is the basis for the elevation.

6. Please confirm if there are any measures being used to dewater the existing quarry, such as sloping to a discharge point or pumping from a sump. Please provide any Permits to Take Water, Environmental Compliance Approvals, and pump tests related to dewatering.

7. Please provide the most recent site plan drafts for the proposed quarry.

8. Please confirm if there are any other letters, memoranda, or reports from Oakridge Environmental that pertain to the proposed quarry expansion, other than the April 2017 “Evaluation of Water Table Elevation” report and June 7, 2021 Oakridge Environmental response to the Peer Review. If yes, please provide these materials.

9. Is there a Fuel Spills Contingency Plan? If so, please provide.

10. Will fuel be stored on site? If so, please indicate the location(s) and any precautions being taken to protect the underlying groundwater flow system from contamination.

11. Please confirm the current elevation range of the existing quarry’s base, and the elevation of the current lowest point in the quarry.

12. Please confirm if there is ever ponded water in the existing quarry. If yes, then how long does it persist?

13. Are the nearest off-site watercourses (one to the north/west and one to the south/east) perennial or intermittent flowing?

2. An order that Upper Canada shall, upon receipt of five days notice from the Appellant, permit the Appellant and his consultants to access the subject property for one day for the purpose of conducting a site visit.

3. Such further and other relief as counsel for the Moving Parties may advise and the Honourable Tribunal may permit.

7Neither the Applicant nor the County filed a Responding Motion Record.

8The Tribunal was advised in advance of the Motion hearing that the Parties had settled the issues related to the Motion, and, as such, at the request of the Moving Party and in accordance with Rule 21 of the Rules, the Tribunal convened the proceedings as a Written Motion hearing.

9The materials before the Tribunal include the Motion Record of the Moving Party containing the Notice of Motion and an Affidavit of Wilf Ruland sworn on October 4, 2023.

10Ahead of the Motion hearing, the Moving Party provided a draft order for the Tribunal, to which the Applicant agreed. The draft order amended the list of information and records sought and did not seek access to the Property for a site visit.

11The relief sought by the Moving Party in the draft order consisted of:

1. The Applicant, Upper Canada Stone, shall by no later than February 15, 2024, serve on the Appellant or his counsel the following:

a. The most recent Site Plan draft(s) for the proposed quarry operation;

b. The Water Well Record for the well labelled W-1 in the April 2017 figure by Oakridge Environmental titled “Figure No. 5 Well Locations” (the “2017 Well Map”)

c. All water level monitoring and water quality sampling data from the wells labelled W-1, W-2, and W-3 on the 2017 Well Map, including all data for W-1 collected after April 15, 2021;

d. The water level data used to model the water table surface in the April 2017 figure by Oakridge Environmental titled “Figure No. 6 Regional Groundwater Flow Pattern”;

e. Current elevation ranges for the quarry; and

f. Confirmation as to whether fuels will be stored or handled on site and, if so, confirmation of the location and precautions being taken to protect against contamination of groundwater flow system.

2. Each party shall bear its own costs.

PRELIMINARY MATTERS

12The Tribunal is in receipt of an Affidavit of Service sworn by Megan George on January 24, 2024, attesting to the giving of notice of the Motion Record on November 13, 2023, being more than 15 days before the date of the hearing of the Motion, thereby meeting the timelines required by of Rule 10.5 of the Rules for the service of notice of a Motion.

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

13The Tribunal finds that, as both Parties are in agreement with the wording of the draft order provided by the Moving Party and no Responding Motion Records were submitted by either Respondents, the contents of the draft order is reasonable.

14The Tribunal therefore exercises its authority to grant the Motion, in part, as amended by the draft order. The Tribunal does so with due consideration of all submissions and aspects of the proposed development of the Property.

ORDER

15THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that the Motion for Discovery brought by Douglas Reid is granted, in part, and that, as agreed to between the Parties, Upper Canada Minerals Inc. is to provide Douglas Reid the following documents by February 15, 2024:

a. The most recent Site Plan draft(s) for the proposed quarry operation;

b. The Water Well Record for the well labelled W-1 in the April 2017 figure by Oakridge Environmental titled “Figure No. 5 Well Locations” (the “2017 Well Map”);

c. All water level monitoring and water quality sampling data from the wells labelled W-1, W-2, and W-3 on the 2017 Well Map, including all data for W-1 collected after April 15, 2021;

d. The water level data used to model the water table surface in the April 2017 figure by Oakridge Environmental titled “Figure No. 6 Regional Groundwater Flow Pattern”;

e. Current elevation ranges for the quarry; and

f. Confirmation as to whether fuels will be stored or handled on site and, if so, confirmation of the location and precautions being taken to protect against contamination of the groundwater flow system.

16THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS that, as agreed to by Douglas Reid and Upper Canada Minerals Inc., each party shall bear its own costs in the fulfillment of the Order.

“C. I. Molinari”

C. I. MOLINARI

MEMBER

Ontario Land Tribunal

Website: www.olt.gov.on.ca Telephone: 416-212-6349 Toll Free: 1-866-448-2248

The Conservation Review Board, the Environmental Review Tribunal, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and the Mining and Lands Tribunal are amalgamated and continued as the Ontario Land Tribunal (“Tribunal”). Any reference to the preceding tribunals or the former Ontario Municipal Board is deemed to be a reference to the Tribunal.