A local group opposing a gravel pit in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (ACW) is celebrating an Ontario Land Tribunal decision that offers what it calls a major victory for community-led environmental protection.
The Friends of Ball's Bridge and Little Lakes (FOBBLL) have been contesting a proposed gravel pit expansion in the area for over half a decade, a fight the group's president said they never saw coming.
"We didn't expect or want to do any of what we did, which is fighting this for the last six years," said Rebecca Garrett, President and Founder of FOBBLL. "This can happen to anyone and does happen to more people in Ontario every day: without any warning, you can find out there's going to be a massive, below-water-table, open-pit aggregate mine right in your backyard or favourite natural area... complex natural ecosystems that took hundreds of years to develop could be destroyed in a day. That's what we woke up to in 2020."
The application was by Van Bree Sand and Gravel for a licence to extract up to 500,000 tonnes of aggregate annually from the site. The nearby residents and users of the trail took action, collecting a petition of over 4,000 signatures.
FOBBLL said initially the Township of ACW was supportive. When an application to rezone the land was filed by V.B. Sand and Gravel, council deferred making a decision due to the public outcry. But the company eventually made an appeal to the OLT on the grounds that council failed to make a decision within 90 days.
Thus, the hearing between the company and the Township was launched. However, Garrett said when ACW made it known it would not take a position on the matter, the onus fell on FOBBLL to make their case to protect the area. The group brought on David Donnelly, one of the nation's leading environmental lawyers, as counsel and applied for party status at the hearing.
They argued that the proposed expansion threatened the area’s sensitive natural habitat and endangered Wood Turtle populations, while also affecting neighbours’ quality of life through potential exposure to harmful fine particulate matter found in dust.
Along with Donnelly, the group presented expert evidence on air quality (Doug Lyons), planning (Allan Ramsay), and natural heritage (Sarah Mainguy) during the three-week hearing.
"We fundraised non-stop pretty much over the six years," said Jennifer Morris, a FOBBLL Director. "Over the years, from our supporters and private donors, all kinds of things from bake sales to events we would host at the bridge, we raised close to $250,000."
Garrett said despite the funds, their counsel and experts basically worked "pro bono."
"If they were working for a gravel company, they would get at least twice what they were paid by us," she said. "We had to raise $250,000 just to squeak by with so much help from our experts and lawyer. The people working for the other side aren't doing it that way... we fought as long and hard as we could, and we're really proud of what we were able to accomplish."
Those accomplishments were realized in the recent OLT decision, which ruled that V.B. Sand and Gravel must conduct mandatory air quality monitoring at the proposed Little Lakes Pit.
The site plan must also include a 30-metre habitat buffer for a Wood Turtle habitat.
The decision came after a partial settlement between FOBBLL and Van Bree that resolved other aspects of the proposed pit expansion. That included the fact that extraction will occur in four phases with rehabilitation work following each phase, and that there will be no work after 5 p.m. or on weekends.
"It set a precedent. That's the thing that's very important about this decision," said Garrett. "It's not just about us. It's about how these kinds of cases will have to happen going forward. There will have to be more regulations. Gravel companies will have to do a lot more work to look at the health implications as well as the environmental implications."
She said all of their experts agreed it was a huge win, especially considering the way the provincial government has scaled back environmental protections in recent years.
"All of these things that we've accomplished will help to change the way that aggregate companies will apply for a licence and the way they'll operate," said Garrett. "They're going to be forced to listen to and seriously consider the concerns of citizens, and they're going to have to work with the communities that are affected, instead of trying to ignore us."
Though FOBBLL's long fight has ended, members said they're still willing to lend their collective expertise to other community groups that are looking to push back on projects that could negatively impact the area, be it more aggregate pits or AI data centres.
"I don't live anywhere near there, but the area is important to me because it represents what could happen potentially next to where I live," said Morris. "I didn't really even know these people when all this started, but as I learned more and became more invested in helping, it made me realize that anybody can stand up and fight and win a lot. You should never just take for granted that it's a done deal."
