Judi Smelko and Alan Ashton are not pleased about the prospects of two new gravel pits moving into their community, and within a few hundred metres of the Saugeen River. “It’s the location. It’s in a horrible location. It’s surrounded on three sides by the Saugeen River, and directly impacts the floodplain,” said Smelko, who would live directly across the road from the proposed pit. Two new gravel pit applications and the proposed expansion of another, all within a kilometre of the Saugeen River, has raised the ire of those living near the proposed developments, in between Durham and Hanover. Ashton says residents are not only worried about the impacts on the local environment, they’re worried about the impacts on them. “Published studies already show that, if you’re within a half a kilometer of a gravel pit, you’re devalued by 25 per cent or more. So, we’re talking about potentially, millions of dollars of property value loss to people who live in this area, and have lived here for a long time, and to have that taken from them by a single person putting a pit in, well, it doesn’t seem fair,” said Alan Ashton, who also would live very close to the proposed gravel pits. Ashton and Smelko, who are members of the Saugeen Preservation Society, aren’t alone. An Ontario Land Tribunal Hearing started today, regarding a proposed gravel pit in Huron County. The proposed pit would harvest gravel within a few hundred metres of the Maitland River near the iconic Ball’s Bridge, and surrounding wetlands. Smelko says their group is asking West Grey council to create a one kilometre buffer zone around the Saugeen River so no gravel pits could be developed that close to the precious resource. “It’s our greatest asset. So, we’d like to see them make it a priority and put a setback in. You can’t develop that close to the river with these kinds of operations,” said Smelko. Smelko said there are currently 29 aggregrate licences in West Grey, that are allowed to take as much as 7.9 million tonnes of gravel each year. In 2023, Smelko said only 750,000 tonnes was taken, so using the licences already in place, makes more sense than opening and expanding more pits. “You can’t take this amount of gravel out and expect nothing to happen. You know, you take off the topsoil, and you have a direct line into the groundwater,” she said. Gravel pit proponents say that Ontario needs more gravel to make the roads and buildings that our economy is counting on for growth. They say there are stringent protections in place to ensure pits aren’t placed where they shouldn’t be, and rules about rehabilitating old sites. But, for those fighting pit placement in both Huron and Grey County today, there’s a feeling that there’s a “dig first” and ask questions later, mentality across the province. “We’ve got the cards stacked against us, but we’re not going to stop fighting,” says Ashton, from the Saugeen Preservation Society.
