Fighting for our community
Our most recent newsletter highlights our cause, the issues, and our progress.
We're living on the edge
What started it all
At the end of March 2018, residents of Floral Park received a notice in the door detailing Fowler's plans of their applications to dig:
- 15 metres deeper into the existing quarry;
- 22 metres closer to Rama Road, and the Floral Park community; and
- to double its extraction footprint by applying for a licence for a new quarry in the newly-purchased adjacent property to the north
This would extend the life of the original quarry from the approximate 10 years remaining, to an additional 76 years.
The residents had 45 days to officially object to this application. Thanks to word-of-mouth among our close-knit community, we decided to take a stand.
Issues: possible impacts to the environment
- groundwater draw-down, possibly affecting our wells and wetlands
- proposed new quarry could destroy sensitive wildlife habitat for endangered and threatened species documented on site and in the wetland
- noise, vibration, and fluctuating water levels could cause disrupted hibernation and disturbances in nesting and spawning
- concerns for toxins leaching into groundwater
- Is the quarry's discharge water contaminated and/or does it contribute to local flooding?
... and human health and safety
- heavy quarry trucks putting pedestrians, cyclists, school buses and other traffic at risk
- concerns for structural damage to homes and cottages from the impact of the detonations
- dangerous possibility of exposure to silica dust, which is a by-product of granite crushing and processing. According to the WHO and IARC, crystalline silica is in the same deadly category as asbestos: Group 1 - Carcinogenic to Humans
- the risk of flyrock. Fowler employees block off traffic on Rama and Switch Roads during detonations, because of the potentially lethal hazard of flyrock. How could Fowler be allowed to blast 22 metres closer to our community?
