SAVE the Saugeen RIVER

08/28/2026

We wrote in response to the recent Ontario Land Tribunal decisions on aggregate extraction applications. We will let it speak for itself!

You can find it in the Owen Sound Current and Owen Sound Sun Times
Reform Gravel Mining Coalition Alex Ruff, MP Top Aggregate Producing Municipalities of Ontario County of Grey

08/26/2026

Great initiative by Top Aggregate Producing Municipalities of Ontario ! Notifying municipalities about license applications and modifications to licenses like changing to below the water table extraction and increasing yearly tonnage will stop these from falling through the cracks!

TAPMO is pleased to announce the launch of our new Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) monitoring initiative.

Beginning in June, TAPMO is monitoring ERO postings related to the Aggregate Resources Act and other aggregate-related proposals that may impact municipalities across Ontario.

When relevant proposals are identified, municipalities will receive:
✅ Proposal summaries
✅ Key deadlines and posting information
✅ Suggested actions for municipalities
✅ Supporting resources and guidance

Our goal is simple: help municipalities stay informed and respond effectively to aggregate-related proposals.
www.tapmo.ca/ero-monitoring-support.

08/22/2026

Ask your candidates about aggregates and join us at Grey County Council on September 10th at 10am to support a fulsome update of aggregate policies!

We all understand that gravel, sand and crushed stone are essential to our roads, homes, hospitals and communities. We aren’t asking Grey County to stop aggregate extraction.

What we are asking is a much more basic question: is every place that contains gravel automatically an appropriate place to mine it?
From where I sit, this is about where we put these operations and how we manage them once they are there.

We need to look carefully at where pits and quarries are being proposed: beside rivers, beside children's camps, near drinking-water sources, wetlands, agricultural land, homes and roads that may already be under pressure. We also need to consider what is already operating in the area and what happens when multiple pits are added together.

That is why local planning and modern comprehensive local policies matter so much. The reality is if an application for a license is made it will be approved. We shouldn't be waiting until an application arrives to start asking whether that particular location is appropriate. Those bigger questions should be addressed through good planning and policies before residents are forced into an expensive, application-by-application fight.

But appropriate siting is only part of the equation.

Even when aggregate extraction is considered appropriate in a particular location, there must be strong, consistent and transparent operating practices to minimize its impacts. Monitoring air quality and dust, monitoring groundwater and surface water, monitoring noise, managing traffic and haul routes, and making sure appropriate mitigation measures are actually in place are all critical.

The Provincial Planning Statement doesn't simply recognize the need to protect aggregate resources. It also directs that extraction be undertaken in a way that minimizes social, economic and environmental impacts, while recognizing public health and safety, water, agriculture and environmental protection as important provincial interests.

To me, that means we need both pieces of the puzzle: put aggregate operations in appropriate places, and make sure they are operated responsibly once they are there. The only place we can truly achieve that is in lower tier policies.

Monitoring is particularly important because communities shouldn't have to simply trust that impacts are being minimized. Gravel extraction impacts are most often insidious, they compound over time We need baseline information, ongoing monitoring and transparency so that if problems arise, they can be identified and addressed.

And we have to look at the cumulative picture. Residents and the environment don't experience one pit at a time. They experience the combined effects of multiple operations, more trucks, more dust, more noise, more water-taking and potentially greater pressure on the same watershed and surrounding community.

That is exactly why the situation in the West Grey Saugeen River area concerns us. We have multiple applications and expansions, and we need to be asking what these operations mean together, not just whether each one can be made acceptable on its own.
I believe Grey County can have a strong aggregate industry and healthy communities. These things are not mutually exclusive.

But getting there requires us to move the conversation upstream before the application, before the lawyers, before the experts and before the community has to start fundraising to defend itself.
We need to identify where aggregate extraction belongs, where it doesn't, how much a particular area can reasonably accommodate, how water and air quality will be protected, how cumulative impacts will be monitored, and what standards must be followed to minimize impacts on the people and environment around these operations.

We aren't saying no to aggregate. We're saying that where we put it matters and how we manage it matters just as much.

That's not anti-aggregate.
That's responsible planning.

Ask your candidates about aggregates in your Municipality and how they will work to ensure we are managing them responsibly from the ground up.

Join us at 10am September 10th at Grey County Council to support starting an aggregate resource management study now to prepare for the Official Plan Update in 2027.

08/20/2026

This also extends to needing modern protective Municipal policies that set standards and balance local priorities and aggregate extraction!

Be sure you ask your Municipal candidates what they will do to ensure this update happens!

Municipalities make some of the most complex decisions in Ontario’s land‑use system. Reviewing aggregate applications, assessing environmental impacts, managing haul routes, and protecting local infrastructure all require clear, consistent information.

But today, standards vary widely. Municipalities often face:
🔹 Incomplete or inconsistent technical studies
🔹 Unclear outcomes for rehabilitation and long‑term monitoring
🔹 Limited ability to address cumulative impacts
🔹 Pressure to make decisions without the information they need

Clear and predictable provincial standards would help municipalities review applications more confidently, set predictable conditions, and ensure community impacts are properly addressed.

When expectations are consistent, planning becomes fairer, outcomes become stronger, and communities are better protected.

Learn more at www.tapmo.ca.

08/19/2026

Another ruling in the past few days this time for our friends at Friends of Balls Bridge and Little Lakes. Again it has taken huge financial and time investments by the public to do things right and satisfy provincial policy to "minimize impacts ".

Huge kudos to their team who worked tirelessly to make this happen!

08/19/2026

Our hearts are with our friends at CORE Burlington.

From their page:

Today we got the news we wished would never come. Like so many of you, we opened our email this morning and our hearts just sank. 130 pages to justify the approval of the quarry expansion we all know will hurt our community deeply, and today especially, our community is deeply hurting.

We need time to digest the 130 page Ontario Land Tribunal decision, review it in detail, and determine a path forward. We will be sure to reach out to you shortly once we have thoroughly reviewed the decision and consulted with our legal team.

This news has traveled quickly, and we’re in alignment with Mayor Meed Ward and the City of Burlington, as they expressed their disappointment with the OLT decision. But like us, their commitment to evaluating next steps shows what tremendous resilience our city, its residents, and our community has.

We want to thank you for all your support of CORE Burlington over the years, through thick and thin, the ups and downs, the good news and the bad. From the bottom of our hearts, we appreciate your unwavering commitment to protecting this incredible community and the breathtaking landscape we have up here on the Mount Nemo plateau.

We have included our response to the local and provincial media, which you can read below. We know there are no words that will do justice to the injustice we are all feeling, but we hope that this signals to all those watching that this decision is not something our community will be taking lightly.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

Burlington, Ont. — Conserving Our Rural Ecosystems (CORE Burlington) is extremely disappointed with today’s decision by the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) approving the proposed expansion of the Nelson Aggregates quarry at Mount Nemo.

The decision approves a major expansion of an existing 500-acre quarry despite extensive evidence presented during the five-month hearing raising serious concerns about drinking water, air emissions and pollution, blasting, flyrock and community safety. These concerns are particularly significant given the quarry’s proximity to local homes, groundwater-dependent residents and environmentally sensitive areas.

The decision also raises serious questions about the reliance placed on provincial oversight and enforcement to protect the community. Evidence presented at the hearing, including the Auditor General’s findings, raised significant concerns about the effectiveness of regulatory monitoring and enforcement at Ontario’s quarries. Yet the decision repeatedly relies on future oversight by the Ministry of Natural Resources and other provincial agencies to address potential impacts.

CORE Burlington is deeply concerned that the decision does not adequately reflect the significance of what is at stake on Mount Nemo including the protection of drinking water, public safety, sensitive ecosystems and the community that calls this area home.

CORE Burlington is reviewing the decision and will provide further information on potential next steps, including a possible appeal.

“CORE/PERL, Burlington and Halton Region all presented compelling evidence at the hearing demonstrating that the expansion of the Nelson quarry will cause dangerous air emissions, threaten our drinking water and expose people to unregulated blasting and flyrock. Nothing in the decision addresses these public health and safety concerns, except to say “trust” the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) with the enforcement of standards that the Auditor General reports MNR systematically ignores" - Gord Pinard, President of CORE/PERL.

“Public trust in the process of approving the Nelson quarry expansion requires careful consideration of the major issues presented, particularly regarding the credibility of Nelson’s evidence. The evidence at the hearing, including the Auditor General’s report, strongly pointed to the fact you cannot trust Nelson or a number of their experts. The Ministry of Natural Resources (“MNR”) is not monitoring and enforcing compliance at Nelson Aggregates and all of Ontario’s quarries. Yet the Tribunal decision falls back on MNR oversight time and time again in the decision, even though MNR didn’t even review the final Adaptive Management Plan or Site Plans. This decision is far too accepting of MNR and MECP’s obvious failures.” David Donnelly, one of Canada’s leading environmental lawyers.

Today’s ruling by the Ontario Land Tribunal to allow the Nelson Quarry expansion is disheartening and contrary to the submissions from the city and community. Staff will review the decision and advise on options.

Read more here: tinyurl.com/quarry-update

07/22/2026

📣 TOWN HALL REMINDER! 📣

Tomorrow night! Join Saugeen Preservation Society and Reform Gravel Mining Coalition Thursday, July 23 at 7:00 PM at the Durham Legion (271 Bruce Street North) for an important community Town Hall on Gravel Mining in and .

Come learn more, ask questions, and find out how you can help protect the Saugeen River, our homes, and our communities. 💙🌿

Can’t attend? You can still help!

💙 Donate directly by e-transfer:
📧 [email protected]

💙 Want a tax-deductible receipt?
Donate through the Small Change Fund:
https://smallchangefund.ca/campaign/save-the-saugeen/

Every voice matters. Every contribution helps. Together, we can make a difference.

We hope to see you there! 🌊💙

07/18/2026

Take a look at the map. If your home is in one of the coloured areas, aggregate policies directly affect your family, your water, your roads, your air, and your community.

Saugeen Preservation Society was formed because aggregate mining is trying to take over our rural West Grey neighbourhood on the banks of the Saugeen River. We've seen firsthand where current local policies fall short of protecting residents, farmland, water, and the environment.

Local policies are built on an aggregate study completed in 2004. They do not: reflect Grey County and municipal priorities, protect our residents, natural assets like the Saugeen River or environment. Our knowledge has grown. It's time our policies did too.

Soon we'll be asking Grey County to begin a new Aggregate Resources Study so updated policies can be included in next year's Official Plan review.

Next time, it could be your neighbourhood so join us:

Thursday, July 23 at 7:00 p.m.
at the Durham Legion

Learn what's happening in our local fight as well as in Grey County, why it matters, and how together we can protect the places we call home.

📍 View the Grey County Aggregate Resources Map:
https://grey.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0e216a07393b47ef9c6dfed7dd544ae8

07/15/2026

📣 You're Invited! Community Town Hall Meeting on GRAVEL MINING 📣

🗓 Thursday, July 23
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 Durham Legion – 271 Bruce St. N., Durham

The fight to protect the Saugeen isn't over, it's entering a critical new chapter.

Join the Saugeen Preservation Society for an important community update as we discuss:

✅ The latest on the Tremble, McLaughlin, and Walker aggregate applications
✅ What's happening next at Grey County
✅ Why updating Grey County aggregate policies is essential to protecting our communities, water, farmland, and future
✅ Our strategy and next steps and how you can be part of them

Every voice matters. Every person in the room strengthens our message that our communities deserve responsible planning and meaningful protection.

Whether you've been with us from the beginning or are just learning about these issues, this is your opportunity to ask questions, get informed, and help shape what comes next.

Together, we've built incredible momentum. Now it's time to keep it going.

💚 Please invite your friends, neighbours, and family. The more people who stand together, the stronger our voice becomes.

We hope to see you there!
Together, we can protect what makes the Saugeen River watershed so special.

Reform Gravel Mining Coalition OFAH Membership