The group of residents and politicians fighting Scotian Materials’ proposed quarry in Aerotech Park are in it for the long haul.
They now say they expect their fight to last 10 years.
“I can’t believe that anyone would think that blasting and crashing and banging would be appropriate in such a location,” said Stacy Rudderham of the Stop the Fall River Quarry group.
The group says the rock quarry, as well as a proposed asphalt and cement plant, break an HRM zoning bylaw.
“They should know the difference between right and wrong,” said Rudderham. “They should know the watershed is at risk. They should know the airport is at risk. They should know the pipeline is at risk. They should know the highway is at risk.”
The city originally denied Scotian Materials – then Northern Construction Enterprises – a permit. But the Nova Scotia Supreme Court disagreed and said the land was under provincial jurisdiction.
Scotian Materials President Robert MacPherson was granted a permit until the province pulled it last fall due to lack of public consultation. He says he's done everything necessary to start this business.
“We have conducted a preliminary environment assessment to identify a number of features including wetlands, water courses and rare species,” said MacPherson. “The location of the quarry was chosen based on the finding of that study.”
MacPherson says the quarry will only operate for about six years before becoming a business park with commercial and residential space that won't affect his neighbours.
“There's blasting that’s designed for areas that are like in downtown New York,” said MacPherson.
This all started in 2011 when Northern Construction bought the land. It’s been four and a half years and a number of court dates later, and the fight is far from over.
“There’s been a lot of challenges and hurdles to jump over and I’m going to continue to do that until I get my operation up and running,” said MacPherson.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kelly Linehan.
