[All] Send form letter to mnister to stop mega quarry

[Louisette Lanteigne]

Hi folks

Folks at NDACT sent this along. Cut, paste, sign and send it to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing here:  "bchiarelli.mpp.co at liberal.ola.org" 

Lulu :0)
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Dear Minister,
I am writing to express my deep concerns about proposed revisions to the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS). It is critical that any changes to the PPS strengthen government’s goal “to promote strong communities, a clean and healthy environment and a strong economy.” However, the proposed update of the PPS will seriously weaken this goal by putting our agricultural food lands and water resources and Economy at permanent risk.
The existing PPS has been faulted for giving clear preference to mining operations, such as quarries, over prime farmland, water resources, wetlands and natural habitat. Unfortunately, the Draft Document includes changes that would offer more preferential treatment to aggregate and mining operations to the detriment of Ontario’s prime farmland and vital fresh water supplies. Food and water must always come first, and the PPS should reflect this growing demand by thousands of Ontarians.
Therefore, I am calling on you to include these revisions in the updated PPS:
	1. No quarries should be permitted on prime farmland or in Specialty Crop Areas. The proposed Highland mega quarry would destroy 2,300 acres of rare Class 1 farmland.
	2. No quarries should be excavated significantly below the water table. The Highland mega quarry would plunge 200 feet below the water table.
	3. Quarries and, especially, Mega Quarries cannot be deemed Interim Use when they can operate for decades once a license is granted.
	4. Remove policy 2.5.3.2 so that our natural features are provided the same protection from quarries as from any other development.
	5. No extraction should be approved at the headwaters of rivers and/or sensitive recharge areas unless and until the province maps underground water courses.
I understand that a balance must be struck between the demands for aggregate extraction and the protection of rare farmland and precious water resources. But as the controversy over the Highland mega quarry has demonstrated, land-use planning has never been more critical. I urge you to put food and water first.
Sincerely, 
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