Encouraging Responsible Management of Ontario's Aggregates

Glossary, Abbreviations, Government Units, etc.

• ARIP. Aggregate Resources Inventory Papers. These are Ontario government surveys showing where sand and gravel exist in Ontario. If one of these areas is marked, and is near an urban area, it's pretty much doomed to be exploited.
• ARA. Ontario's Aggregate Resources Act. This law controls gravel pits in Ontario. Not a bad law. Much of it is ineffectual, due to the fact that the MNR does not enforce it. See also the regulations associated with the ARA. See also the EPA (Environmental Protection Act) and other Ontario laws. Due North Resources has useful information and a summary of aspects of the ARA.
• AROPS. Aggregate Resources of Ontario, Provincial Standards, Version 1.0. This document, estimated around 150 pages, gives details of requirements for pits and quarries, for licensing them and for reporting on them. Essential reading if you are trying to figure out if a proposed pit is legal according to Ontario law, of if you suffer from insomnia. Since the document covers 15 (!) different kinds of pits and quarries, the amount you need to read to learn about only one kind isn't too bad. See also flowcharts for license approval and standard forms. Available for around $55 from Publications Canada, (416) 326-5300, 880 Bay St., Toronto.
• ECO. Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, which administers the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights. Under the EBR, you can participate in ministry decisions about the environment and hold the government accountable for those decisions. You have the right to comment on environmentally significant government proposals, to seek permission to appeal a ministry decision, or to ask a ministry to review a law or investigate harm to the environment. If you think a pit is harming the environment, and you can't get the MNR or the MOE (Ministry of Environment) to act, you should contact the ECO. See important article by Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller on state of Ontario aggregates and the response by the aggregate industry. The ECO annual reports contain important material on aggregates.
• FAQs. See FORCE (Friends of Rural Communities and the Environment) Frequently Asked Questions for information on official plans, zoning by-laws, Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), Provincial policy statement, wetlands, wayside pits, etc.
• MASHA. Mines & Aggregates Safety and Health Association provides information on best health and safety practices in our industry [mining and aggregates] and beyond.. MASHA collects statistics on injuries and fatalities in pits and quarries. These statistics show that on average there is one fatal injury per year in Ontario quarries and sand & gravel pits. Apparently this does not include deaths of non-workers, e.g., the deaths of two boys in a Sudbury-area pit [MNR] and persons struck by gravel trucks.
• MNR. Ministry of Natural Resources. Ontario ministry responsible for gravel pits and for enforcing the Aggregate Resources Act. See website for the MNR Aggregates Branch. The MNR has been downsized so much, and the Ontario gravel lobby is so strong, that enforcement is nominal. See organization of aggregate management in Ontario government.
• MNR: Aggregate Resources Policies Manual (also called PPM: Policies and Procedures Manual). The Aggregate Resources Policy Manual was prepared under the direction of the Aggregate and Petroleum Resources Section, Lands and Waters Branch, to assist the public, aggregate operators, municipalities, consultants, stakeholders and ministry staff to understand the policies and procedures pertaining to the implementation and enforcement of the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA).
• MNR Statement of Environmental Values (SEV). As required by Ontario's Environmental Bill of Rights, MNR lists the purposes of that act and how MNR is supposed to accomplish those purposes.
• Official Plan (OP). Each Ontario governmental unit such as a county or township has an Official Plan which includes policy regarding aggregate pits and quarries. For example, see the Official Plan for Wellington County. In many cases, before a new pit or quarry is allowed, the OP must be amended by Council to change zoning of the site.
• OMB. The Ontario Municipal Board is an independent adjudicative tribunal that hears appeals and applications and resolves land use disputes under a variety of legislation. The Ontario government appoints Members to the OMB. Members include people from different areas of the province with diverse backgrounds such as lawyers, former elected officials, engineers, surveyors, planners and public administrators. OMB decisions since year 2001 on on-line.
• Ombudsman of Ontario. The Ombudsman's job is to ensure the accountability of government through effective oversight of the administration of government services in the province ... The Ombudsman investigates both individual and systemic complaints about the administration of provincial government services including complaints about Ontario government organizations including many tribunals. If all else fails in correcting a problem with a pit or quarry, contact the Ombudsman.
• Natural Heritage Reference Manual: a guide for those who require additional information on technical issues relative to the application of Section 2.3 - Natural Heritage of the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) (Table 1.1). The PPS provides policy direction on matters of provincial interest in municipal land use planning under the Planning Act. (Actually, it seems to be Section 2.1, not Section 2.3.)
• PPS. The Ontario Provincial Policy Statement is issued under the authority of Section 3 of the Planning Act. It provides direction on matters of provincial interest related to land use planning and development, and promotes the provincial policy-led planning system.
• Rehabilitation. Also called restoration or reclamation. The ARA (see above) requires progressive rehabilitation. The ARA states: "Every licensee and every permittee shall perform progressive rehabilitation and final rehabilitation on the site in accordance with this Act, the regulations, the site plan and the conditions of the licence or permit to the satisfaction of the Minister" (Section 48) Apparently this is not enforced by the MNR. In violation of this law, pits in Ontario commonly do not carry out progressive rehabilitation. Bill Galloway, winner of APAO's Award of Excellence, head of Dufferin Aggregates (location of Dufferin Gap) is quoted in Aggregates & Roadbuilding, November 2002, The acreage of land disturbed by aggregate extraction is still increasing, because the rate of disturbance is significantly faster than the rate at which property is being rehabilitated.
• Silicosos or death by dust. Canadian Auto Workers Union states: Silicosis is caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust. Mine and mill workers are at risk of direct exposure to crystalline silica, as are stonemasons and those involved in sandblasting ... Chronic Silicosis affects workers who inhale small amounts of crystalline silica over 10 to 20 years ... Complicated Silicosis develops in 20 to 30 percent of chronic silicosis sufferers. This may happen even if exposure of the worker to the silica stops ... Symptoms include breathlessness, weakness, chest pain, cough and excess sputum. The end result is death due to heart failure.

  ---

  See Gravel Watch home page.