COMMUNITY FEEDBACK REPORT ST MARYS PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTRE 27 JUNE 2012
OVERVIEW On June 27 th, 2012, between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., St Marys Cement Inc. hosted a Public Information Centre (PIC) at Bobby C's Dockside - Port Darlington Marina in Bowmanville, Ontario on the proposed Bowmanville Aggregate Expansion. St Marys will be making a submission to the provincial government later this year, for approval to perform exploratory work in connection with a possible future expansion under Lake Ontario. As part of St Marys ongoing commitment to the Bowmanville community, this session was seen as an important step in informing the local community and addressing potential concerns. St Marys first informed the local community about the project at a meeting of its Community Relations Committee (CRC) in early June 2012. The CRC was established many years ago and meets regularly to discuss concerns and serves as a liaison group between the Bowmanville plant staff and the local community. In addition to the notice at the CRC meeting, St. Marys sent letters to local political leaders and neighbouring organizations to inform them of the proposal and invite them to the PICon June 27 th. To ensure all members of the community were properly advised of the PIC, St Marys purchased prominent advertisements in Clarington This Week that were published on June 15 th and June 21 st. In addition, letters containing information regarding the PIC were distributed via Canada Post ad mail to 6,704 homes in the immediate Bowmanville plant vicinity between June 22 nd and June 27 th. Some residents advised that they did not receive a letter in the mail until the day before or the day of the PIC. Those residents were informed that advertisements regarding the PIC had been in the local newspaper for the previous two weeks. In all, 67 local residents and representatives of municipal and provincial government agencies attended the PIC and the general sentiment and overall attitude of attendees was positive. Most attendees were interested in receiving more information about the proposal from St Marys. Information boards containing facts about the proposal were displayed and St Marys officials and expert consultants were present to take residents through the posted information and answer questions. Attendees remarked that these boards did a good job of detailing key information. EVENT DETAILS There were several complaints about the discomfort caused by the ongoing heat wave. Refreshments including coffee, tea, water and juice were provided and most attendees left quickly after having walked through the display board area. There were also concerns raised about the accessibility of the venue, which could be reached only by stairway, and the challenge that presented to elderly residents. An optional sign-in table was set up at the entrance for attendees to leave their contact details should they wish to receive future information regarding the proposal. Fridge magnets, containing an information hotline and email address, were also available for attendees. A series of 16 information boards were set up around the perimeter of the room allowing attendees to obtain comprehensive information on St Marys proposal and discuss/pose questions to the experts on hand. The information boards included material about the Bowmanville expansion and regulatory process, a map of the proposed location, information on St Marys current operations and what the company envisions for the future. All of the boards have been made available to the public on the http://bowmanvilleexpansion.ca website. St Marys Public Information Centre 27 June 2012 1
KEY PARTICIPANTS There were 15 St Marys staff and outside consultants, including senior executives from the company as well as senior leadership from the existing Bowmanville site in attendance. In the interest of full transparency, these individuals made themselves available to local residents who have been partners in the shared success of the company in Bowmanville. Attendees representing the Municipality of Clarington were: 1. Adrian Foster Mayor 2. Willie Woo Councillor Wards 3 & 4 3. Mary Novak Councillor Wards 1 & 2 4. Ron Hooper Councillor Ward 2 5. Faye Langmaid Municipality of Clarington, Manager of Special Projects and Planning Services Department 6. Marg Tippins Municipality of Clarington 7. David Crome Municipality of Clarington, Director, Planning Services Department Other officials: 1. MPP John O Toole 2. J. Fairchild Ministry of Northern Development and Mines 3. Alistair MacKinnon Ministry of Natural Resources, Lands and Waters Branch 4. Kiersten Allore Regional Municipality of Durham, Planning Division 5. Jim MacKenzie Ministry of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Information Centre Coordinator 6. Cathy Douglas Ministry of Natural Resources, Aggregate Resource Inspector 7. Ken Steele Ministry of Northern Development and Mining 8. B. Hollingsworth Policy Advisor, Planning Aggregates-Lands and Non-renewable Resources 9. Russ Powell CAO, Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority 10. Jenny Knox Public Affairs Manager, Darlington Nuclear Generating Station FEEDBACK, COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS As previously mentioned, the overall tone of the feedback was positive, with most concerns focusing on current operations at the Bowmanville plant. A comment box was made available for questions and feedback which garnered six responses. Those comments included the following questions, which have been edited slightly for clarity: More information needs to be provided online either on the company website or set up a separate website for the project. I would like to see panels from the public information centre online for public to access. Also, the PIC location was not accessible for the elderly (it required going up steps to enter the building). o RESPONSE: A website dedicated to the Bowmanville aggregate expansion has been created. The site is available at http://bowmanvilleexpansion.ca and includes the information boards. St Marys will ensure that any future meetings are more accessible to all members of the public. St Marys Public Information Centre 27 June 2012 2
Very informative. Exploration is needed to determine feasibility. Please make sure that all criteria is met before mining commences. RESPONSE: St Marys routinely ensures that all environmental standards and government regulations are met before proceeding with activities at all of its sites. I do not want any further degradation of our quality of life and enjoyment of the lake. We have lost our sand beach because of the pier construction. Please don t add more industrial structures to our lake front. o RESPONSE: St Marys operates only to the most stringent standards of protection of the natural environment and minimizing the impact on neighbours to our operations. At this time, in connection with this project, St Marys has no plans to add new structures on the lakefront and if there were ever a need to revisit this, St Marys is committed to working with the community and Aboriginal communities with interests in the area to discuss what options are available and how St Marys can work with the community through an open dialogue process. What worries me is the fault line through Lake Ontario. Drilling core samples does not tell you anything about the fault line and I have yet to meet an underwater geologist. Please keep me informed. I have grandchildren growing up in this area and I want their safety to be YOUR #1 concern. o RESPONSE: There have been many studies done with respect to fault lines in Ontario. St Marys top priority is safety and the experts we've hired will apply all of this knowledge to the project if it moves forward. I am against the expansion of the current mine facility. I m not convinced there would be no impact to the fish or ecology of the surrounding wildlife marsh. o RESPONSE: St Marys maintains a strict commitment to government regulations, as well as an ongoing dialogue with the community through our Community Relations Committee. We regret your reservations, however, we will not proceed with the proposal unless authorities are satisfied that there will be little to no impact on fish and the marsh. Sounds good to me I hope you get to proceed. o RESPONSE: St Marys will continue with our commitment to Bowmanville and making sure that the local community is proud of our operations here. Thank you for your feedback! During the information centre, there were several other questions and concerns raised by attendees, including: Why do you need to go under the lake? Don t you already have 100 years of reserves? o RESPONSE: There is a large demand in Ontario for high quality construction aggregate in fact the average consumption for every man, woman and child in the province is 13.5 tonnes every year. Good quality aggregate, the type that can be used in concrete and asphalt, is not found everywhere; in fact it is pretty scarce in the province. A layer of this higher quality construction aggregate, not the stone used for cement production which is found in the existing quarry, is located at a depth greater than the quarry is currently operating. Being responsible stewards of the resources accessible to them within their existing sites fits into the sustainable goals and objectives of St Marys as a company. St Marys Public Information Centre 27 June 2012 3
Sources of aggregate close to market, such as this underground resource at the Bowmanville quarry, is socially and environmentally beneficial to the surrounding community, which is a key objective of St Marys, since bringing in aggregate that is not close to where it is needed has a serious environmental impact and higher costs. There is a need to find sources close to the markets that consume them. That is why St Marys is looking at alternative sources of aggregate such as the one found underground at the Bowmanville quarry. What happens to the comments from the public made during the consultation? Is there really any chance to stop this, or any options to appeal? o RESPONSE: We have provided comments in this report which has been made publicly available on our website. We also maintain ongoing dialogue with our Community Relations Committee and will use these questions to inform the conversation. What will the impacts on the fishery and natural environment be? o RESPONSE: Our commitment through this project is that St Marys will put in place safeguards to ensure the highest protection for the nation's greatest waters and their ecology. We are committed to conducting this expansion with zero impact on the quality or temperature of lake water. There may be some vibration but that will be well under allowable limits. There will be minimal effects on fish and the natural environment. The exploration work will avoid periods when sensitive fish life stages would be present. There will be no release to the water of any drill cuttings or other materials, and therefore, no effects on water quality that could harm aquatic life. The drilling will be temporary, and any disturbance will be limited to a short time period. During mining, there will be no effects on the lake since all activity will take place deep under the lake. I live on the lake what will I see when there is a mine there? o RESPONSE: All development will be conducted under the water. There will be no visible change to what you are seeing now. Will this create any additional jobs? o RESPONSE: Yes, these operations will ensure short and long-term jobs in Bowmanville, and will require us to patronize more local businesses and pay higher taxes and levies. At this early stage it is difficult to provide precise numbers. Can t you go somewhere else, like up north? o RESPONSE: Close to market aggregate keeps the price down for taxpayers as 50% of the cost of aggregate is transportation. Close to market also reduces greenhouse gases emitted by our trucks. St Marys believes that the most efficient way to bring quality aggregate to market in and around the Greater Toronto Area is through expansion of our current operations here in Bowmanville. When will the application for test drilling be submitted to the government? o RESPONSE: Later this summer. We wanted to consult the community and other important stakeholders before assembling our final application. Also raised were a number of questions and concerns about the current plant s operations. These have been documented and forwarded to plant management for handling under a defined protocol. St Marys Public Information Centre 27 June 2012 4
CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS There were some complaints about the current St Marys website. Attendees said it was hard to navigate and not Bowmanville specific. In particular, they would like a more manageable website that contains the information they need. As such, a micro-site has been established at http://bowmanvilleexpansion.ca. The email address and phone line provided to the public are both being checked daily. Your questions and comments are encouraged. Have your say! St Marys Public Information Centre 27 June 2012 5