Stop the Lippa Pit & Quarry

What Is Happening?
Mr. Frank Lippa is proposing to develop a new pit and quarry operation located at 1089 Butler Mill Rd, north-east of Aspdin Rd. The Lippa Pit & Quarry is to be licensed for a maximum annual extraction of 200,000 tonnes of sand, gravel and bedrock. He is applying to Muskoka Lakes Township to rezone from Rural to Rural Industrial - Extractive.
Why Should You Care?
1. Lower property values along Aspdin Road and haul route.
2. Massive increase in heavy truck traffic on Aspdin Rd -- an average of 150 heavy trucks per day at capacity, which translates into 1 truck every 4.4 minutes
3. Heavy use from trucks will put wear and tear on our municipal roads leading to higher taxes and road delays.
4. Negative impact on traffic - Poor sight lines on Aspdin Rd could cause accidents, plus who wants to ride behind a gravel truck on a designated scenic route?
5. Increase in heavy truck traffic will have a negative impact on tourism and may affect local business.
6. Negative impact on safety - roads will be less safe for school children getting on and off the bus, pedestrians, cars entering and exiting driveways/side roads, and cyclists.
7. Negative impact from extra noise and vibration from trucks traveling on haul route, blast zone and processing materials.
8. Negative impact on air quality from dust pollution with this type of industry and trucking haul route. Citizens living adjacent to pits and quarries or in surrounding areas have a higher instance of bronchitis, emphysema, asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Fine dust particulates are particularly hazardous to children and the elderly.
9. Proposed pit and quarry will be operating below the water table leading to potential contamination of ground water and surface water which supplies numerous wells.
10. Negative impact on species of special concern and rare wildlife - bird species such as the Eastern Wood Pewee and the Wood Thrush and turtles such as the Snapping Turtle.
14. The proposed pit will operate 7 days a week, Monday to Friday 6:00am to 9:00pm and Saturday and Sunday 9:00am to 9:00pm with 80% of annual tonnage shipped from June 1st to November 30th.
What Can You Do?
1. Sign the petition.
2. Attend the OMB Pre-Hearing Conference July 13, and the Hearing (date yet to be determined). Please follow "Stop Muskoka Pit" website http://stopmuskokapit.ca/ or the "Skeleton Lake News Page" https://skeletonlake.ca/news for updated information.
4. Forward your email to "Stop Muskoka Pit" http://stopmuskokapit.ca/ to be put on their email list when any new information comes out.
3. Share with others via Facebook or email.

Update#1 June 16th, 2017:

From: https://www.mymuskokanow.com/60942/proposed-lippa-quarry-project-shut-following-heavy-public-opposition/

A proposed quarry project for Muskoka Lakes isn’t making it past the municipal planning phase.
Muskoka Lakes Council has turned down an application to rezone a property from residential to rural industrial in order to build the Lippa Quarry.
The decision came after hundreds of residents turned up at a public meeting in Port Carling this morning to speak out against the project.
Homeowners and cottagers who live nearby the site raised concerns about cancer-causing silica getting into the air, mercury contaminating the nearby Skeleton Lake and property values dropping.
A consulting firm representing the project spoke to some of these concerns with guarantees that all provincial and environmental standards would be met.
In the end, council voted unanimously against the rezoning application.
A town official says the owner of the property still has the option to file an appeal with the Ontario Municipal Board.

Update #2 Dec 12th, 2017

From: https://www.mymuskokanow.com/67409/omb-review-details-rejected-muskoka-lakes-lippa-quarry-project-2018/

A rejected quarry project in Muskoka Lakes is being revisited in the New Year.
The Ontario Municipal Board will be holding a prehearing in February to review the vetoed Lippa Quarry. The project was rejected by Muskoka Lakes council in June following an outpouring of negative responses from the community. Many were concerned the quarry could leak mercury into the nearby Skeleton Lake and the construction would drive down nearby property values.
Quarry project applicants Frank and Elizabeth Lippa immediately filed an appeal to the OMB to have the project reviewed by a tribunal. The OMB would have the ability to overrule the decision made by the town. This prehearing will give OMB officials a chance to review the details of this project with township officials and the applicants before a tribunal date is set.
The meeting will be held on February 21st at 10am at the Muskoka Lakes Township office in Port Carling.

Update #3 Feb 27, 2018
https://skeletonlake.ca/news/5880438

Re: Proposed Lippa Pit and Quarry: - Summary of Feb 21 Pre-Hearing Conference
Jeff Crocker (Administrator)

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a brief summary of last Wednesday’s Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) Pre-Hearing Conference (PHC), held in Port Carling.

The first PHC proceeded as planned. Mr. Hugh Wilkins was the Adjudicator for the OMB. Approximately one hundred people attended, which demonstrated to the Adjudicator this is an issue people care about. The purpose of the PHC was for the Adjudicator and respective counsels to: identify ‘parties and participants’, note issues people wish to raise, and agree on future dates. By the end of the PHC, the Adjudicator granted ‘Party Status’ to the SLCO, the Township of Muskoka Lakes, Mr. Ross Earl, and the Appellant Mr. Lippa. In addition, the Adjudicator granted ‘Participant Status’ to thirteen people/groups, including the Lake Rosseau North Association, and the Lake Vernon Association.

The second OMB PHC will take place on Friday July 13, 2018 at 10 am and be held at the Municipal Office, 1 Bailey Street, Port Carling. As before, our legal counsel has advised that a strong turnout from residents and cottagers who are opposed to the proposed pit and quarry is important at the second PHC. It is important to continue to demonstrate to the Adjudicator that a large number of people are strongly against the proposed pit and quarry.

Looking further into the future, there is the possibility of a third PHC; no date has been discussed for a third PHC yet. The OMB Hearing itself will likely be scheduled for the spring of 2019. We will notify you of these dates once they are available.

Please continue to follow us on our Skeleton Lake Cottagers’ Organization Facebook page. In particular, please refer to the following post on the Feb 21 PHC.

As we continue to go forward, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Scott May, President

Skeleton Lake Cottagers Organization