Is STORM an Excuser for Ontario Government to Allow More Oak Ridges Moraine Destruction ?

From: "John O'Gorman" <jcogorman@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

Subject : Moraine growth continues, despite act

http://www.yorkregion.com/yr/yr4/YR_News/Newscentre/Regional/story/3816774p-4414792c.html

Moraine growth continues, despite act

Serena Willoughby, Staff Writer Dec 16, 2006

(York Region) - Remember when the province promised to protect
environmentally sensitive lands in York Region under its Oak Ridges
Moraine Conservation Act?

Activists do remember and are wondering, then, why growth is still
taking place in areas covered by the act, including hydro pole
installation on Bayview Avenue in Richmond Hill.

But Save the Oak Ridges Moraine --

a group key in getting the legislation passed --

says it was never intended to halt development in the environmentally
sensitive zone.

Carrie Hoffelner, a environmentalist who ran unsuccessfully for a seat
on Richmond Hill council last month, questions why the transmission
lines, which she says aren't in keeping with the natural features of
the
moraine, are being installed by PowerStream, the area's hydro utility,
&
why the public wasn't consulted before work began.

The lines, which run between Stouffville and Bethesda roads, will serve

as feeder lines, acting as a back up for existing residences and to
serve new areas PowerStream spokesperson Eric Fagan says.

But the Oak Ridges Moraine Act is meant to protect the natural features

of the moraine, not prevent growth, says Debbie Crandall of Save the
Oak
Ridges Moraine.

"The problem is the Oak Ridges Moraine Act is not there to protect
against sprawl, it is there to protect the moraine. It was never
thought
that this would stop hydro poles and sewers from going in," she says.

"That's a weakness of the plan, but by protecting the moraine, it sets
the bar higher than anywhere else in the province."

She argues that while the act won't stop every single project, it
offers
a level of protection that's better than what existed before.

For Ms Hoffelner, it comes down to lack of enforcement.

"They've got the legislation there, but they simply refuse to endorse
it," Ms Hoffelner says.

She points to a similar situation with the lower Leslie Street trunk
sewer that stretches from 19th Avenue to Bethesda.

The project is exempt from the full environmental assessment process
because, due to its small scale, it is not subject to the more
stringent
Environment Ministry approvals.

The problem is the legislation is not being interpreted in good faith,
Ms Hoffelner says, adding York Region won't enforce it because the
region is under pressure from the Places to Grow Act, which calls for
high growth in parts of the region, including Newmarket, in the next 20

years.

"It's sort of like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse," she
says.

Like sewers, the scope of the hydro pole project isn't large enough to
warrant an environmental assessment, despite the fact it runs through a

core area of the moraine.

"The Oak Ridges Moraine Act and the greenbelt plan and other measures
work together to make sure there isn't a free-for-all on the moraine,"
says Laurel Broten, Ontario's environment minister. "It doesn't mean we

won't see development of any kind."

Consultation with the public & experts plays a major role in
determining if projects go ahead, Ms Broten says.

But with such a small-scale project, there is no one to ensure
consultation happens, other than resident groups such as the Richmond
Hill Naturalists and activists such as Ms Hoffelner, who is protesting
the hydro project.

She is working with PowerStream to get a consultation process going
but,
in the meantime, construction continues.

"We're at the point now where we just want to get a copy of the Oak
Ridges Moraine Act and read it over a loud speaker as the construction
is going on," she says. "At least then we would feel like we were doing

something and not getting caught in some bureaucratic process," she
said.

Within the act, a core area has the highest level of protection and
only
servicing for existing and "very restricted new resource management" is

allowed.

"No matter how you look at it, there are people on the moraine &
people need power," Ms Crandall says.

The key, she says, is opening dialogue with developers to ensure they
are installing infrastructure in keeping with the natural features of
the area.

Meanwhile, groups are working with York Region to come up with a
strategy for dealing with the infrastructure they know is coming.

Projects, such as lighting for pedestrian crossings on Yonge Street in
parts of the moraine, need to be looked at differently, says Mary Ann
Yake, the group's president.

"They (York Region) understand where we're coming from and they want to

work with us," she says. "There's an opportunity to redefine the
approach to these areas that are supposed to be protected."

STORM Coalition is planning a symposium for February. Visit
stormcoalition.org

MORAINE FACTS

One of Ontario's most significant landforms, the irregular ridge
stretches 160 kilometres from the Trent River to the Niagara
Escarpment.

The moraine divides watersheds draining south into western Lake Ontario

from those draining north into Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe and the Trent
River system. There are 190,000 hectares of land and water within the
moraine.

The moraine has a unique concentration of environmental, geological and

hydrological (features that make its ecosystem vital to south central
Ontario.

The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001 received Royal Assent
Dec.
14, 2001.

The Oak Ridges Moraine Act and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan

are key elements of Smart Growth, the Ontario government's long-term
strategy for what it says promotes and manages growth, sustains a
strong
economy and promotes a healthy environment.

The plan divides the moraine into four land use designations: natural
core areas (38 per cent of the moraine), natural linkage areas (24 per
cent), countryside areas (30 per cent) and settlement areas (8 per
cent).

.