Securing Melancthon’s future: Info session about quarry pit

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT) and Strada Aggregate are hosting a public information session for residents within the surrounding area of a proposed quarry pit. 

The meeting will be held on Thursday (Nov. 9) at 6:30 p.m. at the Horning's Mills Community Hall in Melancthon. The meeting is intended to advise property owners with wells and natural features within the radius of the proposed pit about the logistics of the WELLness Check Program. 

The WELLness Check Program is one of the key schedules in an agreement signed by NDACT and Strada Aggregate back in June. The program will assist with understanding existing environmental conditions, monitoring those conditions, and ensuring the proposed quarry, if approved for a licence, will have no adverse effects on the surrounding water wells and the natural environment. The program will also see that should there be an impact, Strada would finance solutions. 

“NDACT is asking landowners to take part in studies to monitor and establish water levels so that a baseline can be established,” explained Karen Wallace, chair of NDACT. “In order to realize this financial solution landowners must participate in the monitoring study.” 

According to Strada Aggregate, there are approximately 120 residents who are considered to be within the catchment area and eligible for the WELLNESS Check Program. 

Strada Aggregate initially brought forward a presentation proposing the quarry to Melancthon council in October of 2021. The Strada Aggregate quarry was proposed to be constructed in an existing gravel pit located in the area of 4th Line and County Rd. 17 in Melancthon and designed to extract 2 million tonnes of aggregate while extending below the water table. 

In June, NDACT and Strada Aggregate signed an agreement that gave NDACT input and decision-making into Strada's quarry application before being submitted. As part of the agreement, NDACT will not oppose the application unless the science shows the quarry could harm the environment. 

NDACT has tasked hydrogeologist Garry Hunter, who worked with them during the mega-quarry battle, with accessing the studies completed on the proposed quarry pit and providing advice before any application is filed. 

North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce is an organization of local farmers and residents working to change legislation and regulatory amendments to protect prime agricultural land and water sources. The taskforce was formed in 2009 to protect farmland in Melancthon from a proposed mega-quarry, and today, they continue to advocate for preserving prime farmland in the Dufferin County region. 

Those who are unable to attend the information meeting in-person will be able to watch it virtually via Zoom. Send an email to wellness@Stradaquarry.com to receive the link to the meeting.