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September
1995 Newsletter
Region
Wants Exemption from Environmental Assessment
On
June 20, the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth council adopted
a resolution to revive its expressway plans for Red Hill
Valley. Specifically, the council endorsed a four-lane expressway
through the length of the valley with a fifth climbing lane
where the road crosses the Niagara Escarpment. Section (a)
of the council resolution sets out a series of requests
of the province. Subsections (iv) and (v) are of particular
significance. They ask the provincial government to:
"iv)
promptly instruct the Ministry of Environment and Energy
(MOEE) to set out requirements for compliance by the Region
to the Environmental Assessment Act through the preparation
of exemption orders (amendment) to the original EA, for
the section from Mud Street to Brampton Street;
"v)
promptly instruct the MOEE to set out requirements for compliance
by the Region to the Environmental Assessment Act through
the preparation of a Class Environmental Assessment for
the section from Brampton Street northerly, including the
Q.E.W. interchange, under the following conditions:
"aa)
scoping of the project be limited to alternative locations
and design for the Q.E.W. interchange;
"bb)
rigorous file management."
In
lay language, this is a request to exempt, to the greatest
extent possible, the expressway proposal from an Environmental
Assessment. Because the section north of Brampton Street
has never been subject to any assessment, the Region has
separated this from the rest of the roadway and asked for
the minimum allowable assessment process. Note that this
apparently would not include environmental issues arising
from one or more of the three landfill sites located in
this area, the Class One wetland complex, or any implications
the project may have for the health of Hamilton Harbour.
(P.S. "rigorous file management" means "do
it as fast as humanly possible".) An exemption for
the remaining roadway (from Mud Street to Brampton Street)
would eliminate any possibility of further review of the
project's environmental impacts on the community, the valley,
the creek or the harbour.
What
should you do?
This
is our best opportunity to obtain the full re-appraisal
of the expressway that is so desperately needed. Although
the project may die from lack of funding, we would be foolhardy
to rest our hopes on that. We urge you to immediately
write letters to the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth and
the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy. You should
state your concerns with the project (in whatever detail
you wish) and ask that it be subject to an assessment processs
which allows for full public examination and input. We have
been assured by Ministry officials that such views will
be taken into account in their decision-making process.
The letter from Friends of Red Hill is reprinted
in this issue for your reference. Your letters should
be sent as soon as possible.
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