[All] Good News re: Mount Nemo in Burlington.

[Louisette Lanteigne]

Mount Nemo Big Step Closer to Being Saved: 
Niagara Escarpment Commission Votes 11 to 4 in Favour of Processing 
Citizens' Amendment
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE



For Immediate Release: September 23, 2010



Toronto – In a precedent-setting decision, the Niagara 
Escarpment Commission voted to process Protecting Escarpment Rural 
Land’s (PERL) private amendment application for the Nelson Aggregate Co.
 proposed quarry site that, if approved, would see a significant part of
 the Mount Nemo Plateau, on the Niagara Escarpment in Burlington, 
Ontario, permanently protected. 



"The decision to process PERL's application will allow the proper level 
of environmental protection to be decided ahead of, or at the same time 
as, the Nelson Aggregate Co. quarry application, in accordance with the 
precautionary approach," said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director of 
Environmental Defence. 



PERL hopes to obtain a re-designation of the provincially-protected 
Jefferson Salamander habitat, regionally significant woodland, 
Provincially Significant wetlands and Halton Region Natural Heritage 
System to Escarpment "Protection" and "Natural" on the site, both of 
which prohibit mineral extraction.



Burlington Mayor and Halton Regional Councillor, Cam Jackson, presented 
two unanimous Council resolutions supporting PERL's application as a 
"first step" to protecting the entire Mount Nemo Plateau. 



Commissioner Alan Elgar tabled the motion and affirmed, "It is our job 
to implement the NEPDA [Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development 
Act], and its purpose is to 'maintain the Niagara Escarpment 
substantially as a continuous natural environment'."  After the vote, 
Elgar announced, "This is a precedent-setting decision and it is the 
right one. It says: the NEC will process applications in accordance with
 the Act that are in keeping with its purposes."



"We could not be more impressed with the Commission," stated Roger 
Goulet, Executive Director of PERL. "We must get the land-use 
designations right before decisions are made on development 
applications. This is what we have been saying for years."



Many environmentally sensitive areas within the Niagara Escarpment Plan 
area would be protected by today's standards and science but are left 
vulnerable to development by the 25-year-old Niagara Escarpment Plan 
designations.



"Right now the process is upside-down," commented Lia Magi, a lawyer 
with Donnelly Law representing PERL. "Bringing a third-party application
 was the only way to put the proper land-use designation, based on the 
most current science, squarely in front of a decision-maker while it is 
still relevant," Magi added.



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