Community information meeting regarding proposed Honeywood quarry in the works

November 17, 2022 · 0 Comments

By: Paula Brown

North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) has announced plans to host a community information meeting in early 2023.

In a press release issued on Nov. 12, NDACT said the meeting will inform the community in more detail of the work they’ve done to date with Strada Aggregate, a company proposing to quarry below the water table at a gravel pit near Honeywood.

“NDACT would like to thank the community for putting its trust in us,” said the locally-based advocate group in a recent press release.

In October of 2021, Strada Aggregate brought forward a presentation to Melancthon Council with plans to potentially develop a quarry below the water table on its existing licensed lands.

Located in the area of 4th Line and County Rd. 17 in Melancthon, Strada Aggregate has operated as an active gravel pit since 2004. The location is south of the former Mega-Quarry lands.

NDACT held a virtual community meeting back in January to inform the public of its proposal in response to Strada’s plans. Following the meeting, NDACT released a list of requests for Strada Aggregate.

The key components requested by NDACT started with the hiring of a community-trusted consultant.

If the consultant agreed with the science behind the application studies and it was deemed viable, NDACT said it was prepared to not challenge the application. If the consultant did not agree with the science, NDACT asked that Strada not continue with the application.

An additional request included Strada create a substantial fund to aid in court costs for people who may experience water problems, and commit annually to funding 10 cents per tonne of their extracted aggregate to the Honeywood Arena.

“Since the meeting, NDACT has worked to evolve the original proposal to include measures that will protect this community and its water,” wrote the agricultural taskforce. “We appreciate Strada’s due diligence working with our team developing a Pre-Application Community Agreement, which would be a first of its nature in this province.”

NDACT has not yet confirmed an official date or time for the updated community information session in 2023.