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September
2001 Newsletter
Missing
Approvals for Expressway
The
federal appeal is only one of the major obstacles in the
path of thevalley expressway. If it is successful, an environmental
assessment screening will resume, possibly leading to a
new Panel Review. However, there are numerous other approvals
still outstanding. Some of these are described below.
- The
provincial Ministry of the Environment has made it clear
that the City's plans to excavate 70,000 cubic metres
from the toxic Rennie dump will require an approval under
section V of the provincial Environmental Protection Act,
and this will trigger a new provincial environmental assessment.
The expressway cannot be built without the dump excavation.
- The
conditions attached to the 1997 provincial exemption order
for the expressway require the City to complete an internal
assessment of the project. Initial draft reports were
issued in mid-1998 but abandoned uncompleted when the
federal assessment began. The initial work identified
major problems with air quality, noise, health, climatic
impacts, ecological impacts and visual impacts. The City
solicited and received numerous comments from the public
in October 1998 but has never replied to these. All the
reports remain in the draft stage.
- The
exemption order also requires that the City obtain an
approval from the Niagara Escarpment Commission for the
road crossing of the escarpment. The NEC has not given
this approval and the initial consultants report on this
issue recommended against approval. Lawyers for the NEC
also have determined that the City will need a whole new
approval from the NEC for the expressway, over half of
which is located within the Niagara Escarpment Plan Area.
- The
Hamilton Region Conservation Authority is responsible
for cut and fill regulations and other flood control measures
in Red Hill Valley. An approval from the Conservation
Authority must be received before the City can re-route
the creek or do any construction work on the floor of
the valley. The Conservation Authority also is responsible
for enforcing the City's tree-cutting bylaw adopted last
year. The general manager of the Conservation Authority
has recently written to Mayor Wade "if the City intends
to exempt themselves [from the bylaw], and if so, for
what reasons." Conviction under the bylaw may result
in fines of $20,000 and imprisonment up to three years.
- City
financial staff have warned that the expressway will impose
a major financial burden on the City and may even contribute
to bankrupting the City if accompanied by an economic
downturn. Credit agencies have already told the City that
borrowing for the expressway may lead to downgrading of
the City's credit rating.
- The
province is now proposing a mid-Peninsula expressway with
a possible connection to the Red Hill Valley expressway.
This would significantly alter the traffic load and other
factors associated with the valley route with unknown
implications. MPP Ted McMeekin recently called for a new
environmental assessment of the Red Hill road because
of the implications of the mid-peninsula corridor.
- Native
peoples have announced a land claim affecting Red Hill
Valley. They are concerned about native graves and other
sacred sites that are likely located in the valley.
In
addition, the growing government and public concern about
smog, air pollution, and climate change should lead both the
provincial and the federal governments to adopt policies preventing
the destruction of urban forests and their replacement with
highways. These issues should also give pause to local decision-makers,
but that seems less likely in Hamilton. |
