Controversial asphalt plant at centre of Tantallon public meetings
People opposed to a proposal to allow a mobile asphalt plant to operate in Tantallon had the chance to meet with the company behind the project and the city to discuss their concerns Wednesday night.
While some said they finally got the answers they needed to support it, others remain unwavered in their opposition.
"You change it once, it's easier to change again," said resident Chris Saunders of the request to change a bylaw and allow the project to move forward. He's worried it will open the doors to develop or use land in the area.
The debate first boiled up a year and a half ago, when Scotian Materials asked the city to change bylaws and allow them to produce asphalt.
"This is the biggest issue that I have seen our residents talking about and getting behind and concerned about since I've lived here," said Dustin O'Leary, president of the Westwood Hills Residents Association.
His community is about 2.5 kilometres away from the proposed plant, but he says that's not far enough.
Strong interest in the past
Past consultations have drawn hundreds of people with standing room only at the meetings, and many being turned away because there was no space.
In anticipation of the interest, the city planned three, one-hour sessions on Wednesday and Thursday nights.
People weren't given the opportunity to ask questions in front of the entire group. Instead, they were told to approach Scotian Materials staff directly after listening to a presentation by the company's president.
O'Leary said people are worried about the environmental impact, home valuations and noise levels.
He's most concerned about the company giving the plant a label of being mobile.
"They can say it's mobile all they want to, but at the point where they get approval, they can decide how permanent or temporary it is."
Clarifying misinformation
Robert MacPherson, president of Scotian Materials, said there's a lot of misinformation out there and he hopes to ease concerns at the meetings.
He said since they're producing raw material at the quarry, it only makes sense to turn it into asphalt at the site, instead of trucking it away and bringing it back.
"The types of jobs that we would be looking at doing are not that frequent," MacPherson said. "I don't think that would be in there more than a two-month period and that probably wouldn't be on an annual basis."
MacPherson said they'll walk away from the proposal if anyone presents facts that show it would be harmful to the environment or public health.
Researching health impacts
Scotian Materials recently hired Golder Associates to study the plant.
That research concluded that air emissions would be well within Canadian health standards.
But O'Leary said he's waiting until the provincial government comes out with its own health report before he accepts the other findings.
The research was enough to sway Donna Collins's opinion of the project.
"I think it's probably a good thing for the area," she said, pointing out that she was relieved to hear it would be tucked away and not an eyesore from main roads.
"There's always a lot of construction going along. So it saves highways for one thing, for big trucks going along the highways full of asphalt. It seems to be a good thing."
Giving feedback
Saunders was not convinced and asked city staff to turn down the proposal.
"I'm concerned about the environmental aspects of it," he said. "I'm concerned about potential groundwater implications. It's two kilometres away, but it's a good aquifer."
City staff said they would use the feedback from the sessions before making any recommendations about what should happen next.
