By IAN ROSS
Plans for a traprock quarry on Lake Superior have been temporarily stonewalled by a group of Wawa cottagers fighting to stop industrial development along what they consider sensitive, pristine and protected shoreline.
The Superior Aggregates Company intended to start operations this past spring, but have placed their plans on hold as a land use battle shapes up. The dispute has resulted in a citizen’s group issuing a court challenge against the Township of Michipicoten over zoning issues.
About 20 cottage owners calling themselves the Citizens Concerned for Michipicoten Bay are demanding the province conduct a full environmental assessment of the open pit mining operation proposed by Superior Aggregates. The company is proposing the development for the former commercial harbour just southwest of Wawa, about 240 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie.
The opponents say the company’s method of drilling, blasting and crushing stone will cause long term environmental degradation to fish and wildlife habitat at the expense of short term economic gain.
“I really have trouble picturing we’ll be doing anything commercially until next year,” says Bruce Staines, Superior Aggregates mine manager. He adds there is a potential court injunction being threatened by the cottagers’ group to stop the open pit operation if it proceeds.
Superior Aggregates Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Detroit-based Carlos Group of Companies, a leading Midwestern U.S. highway builder with interests in general contracting, commercial and industrial land development.
They own about 390 hectares at Michipicoten harbour where they plan to invest between $6 million to $8 million (US) to bring 13 hectares under development. Portable crushing and screening equipment would process as much as 1,000 tonnes of aggregate per hour when production is ramped up to full capacity. Staines says there are adequate reserves for a mining life of more than 50 years.
The quarry would be situated about a hundred metres from a former commercial ore dock in Michipicoten Harbour with rock being excavated by drilling and blasting through a cliff.
The former iron ore dock will be upgraded as Superior Aggregates plans to float traprock by lake freighter to ports around the Great Lakes.
But the operation’s proximity to Lake Superior is too close for comfort for cottage owners who view the development as a potential environmental threat to the North Shore, an area rapidly gaining in popularity among sea kayakers.
“We see Michipicoten Bay as being the focal point for eco-tourism potential,” says Mark Leschishin, a Wawa forester and a spokesperson for the Concerned Citizens of Michipicoten Bay. “We want to see a full environment assessment done so that all the facts are on the table to decide whether the project goes ahead with mitigation or not at all.”
They also have further concerns about possible industrial spills, the impact of freighter traffic and possible arsenic contamination released from rock dust. The group has retained a lawyer and a planner.
Through a Web site, they have launched an electronic letter-writing lobbying campaign to Environment Minister Jim Wilson demanding a full environmental review and have garnered the support of the Sierra Club of Canada, the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, Great Lakes United and the Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association.
Rhobi Chacha, project officer in the Ministry of Environment’s assessment and approvals branch, says the residents’ request for an environmental assessment is currently under review, but could give no timelines as to when a decision is expected.
The proposal falls into a no man’s land of land use planning as a private holding not covered under the provisions of the province’s Mining Act and the Aggregate Resources Act.
However, Staines says the corporation will follow the provisions of both acts as guidelines, as well as file a rezoning application with the township to undergo a public consultation process “to mediate concerns and meet any challenges head on.” Part of the property is zoned M-2 industrial with the remainder zoned rural.
Staines says the company has attempted to alleviate some concerns by offering to bury crushers below ground and build berms to minimize noise, install dust collectors on equipment and a water recycling system to prevent site water from seeping into the lake.
“We want to deal with these issues up front before any investment is made.”
With stripping and roadbuilding to the site now complete, Superior Aggregates intends to take a 20,000-tonne bulk sample later this summer to determine what type of blasting agent works best with the host rock. The plan is to ship some of the quarried material off to crusher manufacturers to develop equipment specifications, he says.
Chris Wray, the Township of Michipicoten’s clerk-administrator, says the municipality is caught in the middle of trying to support new business while balancing the interests of area residents. But he expressed confidence the Superior Aggregates proposal could be supported under the municipality’s official plan and existing zoning bylaws.
With potential jobs paying in the range of $18 to $25 per hour, the project would be a much-needed boost to the area’s ailing economy, still reeling from the 200 jobs lost when the Algoma Ore Division was shut down in 1998.
“Our area economically is not doing very well right now and these jobs are important to us, but we can’t sacrifice the environment,” says Wray. “We’re interested in partnering with the company to ensure they have some success here and they provide something to the economy.”
