Petition asks Burlington council to help fight Nelson quarry expansion

Residents are asking the city to prevent the expansion of Nelson Aggregates Mount Nemo quarry.

Ward 3 councillor Rory Nisan presented a petition to council at their Sept. 26 meeting that contains more than 1,300 signatures – people who do not support the expansion of its gravel mine on Mount Nemo.

The petition seeking a joint agency review team peer review, and for a public report to provide funds for (OLT) hearing. 

Nisan read the petition, which urges council to “explore all feasible options to prevent expansion of Nelson Aggregates Mount Nemo quarry, including permanent protection of the natural heritage, features, functions, and species, especially the endangered species and their habitat on the Mount Nemo plateau.”

Nisan noted that the petition was presented as a whole, but also provided to each council member individually, through email.

“We've been seeing this for a long time, and it's an impressive number of signatures from the local community. So I'm quite pleased to be able to present this,” he added.

There will be a confidential legal update regarding Nelson Aggregates at the Oct. 4 Corporate Services Strategy, Risk and Accountability meeting.

Ward 6 councillor Angelo Bentivegna said the video shown at the Sept. 18 community planning meeting has been effective in keeping the issue at the forefront of his mind.

“The delegations from the residents,  there were some excellent views that we heard, but what keeps coming back to my mind is that video that was sent to us. You know, visuals are always very important. When I saw this cloud, I understand it's about two kilometres wide. It affects everyone in the city.

"And until we find those answers it is our due diligence to take care of our residents, our population in our city. As we always say, safety is the number one issue for our residents.”

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward also acknowledged residents for being engaged.

“Thanks to the community for once again getting into the ring, to fight for the environment, to fight for your health, to fight for what is good for the city going forward. So stay tuned. We should have some news for you about how we might implement some of those four recommendations in the petition. And thank you for being alongside us as we go through this file.”