Enviros Fight Two Quarries Atop Ontario's Niagara Escarpment

"TORONTO -- The topmost peak of Ontario's most outstanding geologic feature, the Niagara Escarpment, is under threat from two proposed quarries. But now the quarriers must deal with the massed opposition of a national nonprofit organization, a provincial regulatory agency and two local community groups.

One quarry, by Walker Aggregates Inc., is proposed for Duntroon, Ontario a tiny hamlet near Collingwood, while plans for another quarry only 600 meters away were announced earlier this month by M.A.Q. Aggregates.

"Clearly, there is no coordination or assessment of the cumulative effects of these two proposed quarries. The Duntroon Quarry license application itself is a serious test case for protecting the Niagara Escarpment, the Greenbelt and Ontario's freshwater resources," said Dr. Rick Smith, executive director of the national NGO Environmental Defence. "

Environment News Service had the story March 29, 2010.