May
8, 2003
21 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORTS
RELEASED AFTER COUNCIL DECISION TO START
CONSTRUCTION
Friends
of Red Hill issued the press release
posted below
today. The dumping of 21 major reports,
totalling over 2000 pages of material,
after the Council decision to start
construction of the expressway, once
again displays the contempt of the City
for public consultation and legal procedures.
It also shows the necessity of replacing
as many pro-expressway councillors as
possible. Campaign work has already
been launched in some wards. We urge
you to volunteer to assist. In addition,
we need reviewers to help us read and
comment on the 21 reports. A list follows.
If you can assist, please email redhill@hwcn.org.
-
Escarpment
Crossing Visual Assessment - 2003
-
Surface
Water, Stormwater Quality and the Red Hill Creek Realignment
Study - 2002
-
Terrestrial
Resources - 2003
-
Noise
Assessment - QEW Section - 2003
-
Niagara
Escarpment Expressway Crossing Alternate Design Report
- 1999 Draft
-
Southern
Flying Squirrel Study - 2003
-
A
Stream Network Inventory, Fluvial Geomorphologic Assessment,
and Preliminary Natural Channel Design of Red Hill Creek
- Volume 1 - 2002
-
Thermal
Dynamics Impact Assessment - 2003
-
Snow
Drifting Assessment - 2003
-
Traffic
Noise Impact Assessment (Red Hill Valley Section) -
2003
-
Post-Construction
Air Quality Monitoring for Lincoln Alexander Parkway
-
Golf
Course Impact Assessment Study, Red Hill Creek Expressway
and King’s Forest Golf Course - 2002
-
Hydrogeologic
Inventory and Impact Assessment - 2003
-
Land
Use Assessment - 2003
-
Air
Quality Assessment - 2003
-
Vehicle
Air Emissions Inventory - 2003
-
Economic
Impact to Businesses at QEW Interchange - 2003
-
Pre-construction
Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Survey - 2003
-
Fisheries
and the Red Hill Creek Realignment Study - 2003
-
Cultural
Heritage Resource Assessment - 2003
-
Contaminated
Sites Impact Assessment Report - 2003
May
8 , 2003 — Media release
21 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORTS RELEASED AFTER COUNCIL
DECISION TO START CONSTRUCTION
Yesterday,
the City of Hamilton released 21 environmental assessment
reports related to the Red Hill Creek Expressway. Citizens
and community organizations have been attempting to obtain
some of the reports for more than five years.
Dating
of the reports shows that many were completed some time
ago but have been withheld from the public until after City
Council’s April 22 vote to begin construction of the
expressway. After that decision, some reports were posted
in digital form on the City’s website, some broken
up into dozens of parts. Yesterday marked the first release
of the printed reports. The pile of reports released yesterday
is nearly 12 inches thick.
It
appears that this week is also the first time that members
of council have also been able to examine these reports.
However this does not seem to be a concern for the twelve
councillors who support the expressway project, and who
voted to start construction without any of this information
in their hands.
"This
transparent tactic of withholding key information about
the expressway until after the Council vote was obviously
intended to deflect public concern about the results of
the studies", said Don McLean, chair of Friends
of Red Hill. "This is grossly unfair and undemocratic
to citizens. It’s also pretty stupid of the councillors
to start building before they know what the effects will
be."
The
covers of all 21 reports are dated March 2003, but only
two bear that date on the inside pages. The majority are
dated April 2003, but some are considerably older. In addition,
several with the April 2003 date on the front page, contain
many inside pages dated much earlier.
One
report dated February 1999 discusses design alternatives
for the expressway crossing of the Niagara Escarpment and
was apparently provided secretly to the Niagara Escarpment
Commission at that time. The public had no opportunity to
comment. Two other reports have 2002 dates and appear to
be unchanged from material released last October, while
three more are dated in February 2003.
Citizens
and the media have been using Freedom of Information laws
for several years to try to obtain some of the reports.
Information on the archaeological investigations in Red
Hill Valley have been particularly sought after. Since 1997,
more than $1 million has been allocated by City Council
for archaeological work, but no reports have been made public.
The 185-page archaeological report released yesterday makes
reference to reports submitted to the City in 2000, 2001
and 2002, proving that they have been withheld by the City
since that time.
Archaeological
Work Incomplete
The
report reveals that 22 archaeological sites have been found
in the path of the expressway project. Thirteen of these
were discovered over the past five years, including one
dating to 11,000 years before present. This is the oldest
evidence of human presence in the Hamilton area and one
of the oldest sites in Ontario. It was occupied during the
period of the first arrival of people in southern Ontario.
The
report recommends further work is required in eight of the
sites, so archaeological investigations are far from complete.
At one site, over 56,000 artifacts have been found, even
though less than a third of the site has been excavated.
Some
reports have still not been released. These include a "Consultation
Report" that promises to finally reply to citizen and
agency comments submitted five and a half years ago in October
1998. Another key missing report is the on the expected
health effects of the expressway. A 1998 draft report warned
that air pollution from the road would likely increase childhood
asthma rates and make school and park playgrounds in valley
neighbourhoods unsuitable for vigorous exercise. In its
concluding paragraph, the report warned that the elderly
and the young "should be encouraged to limit their
exposures, and not frequent the Red Hill Valley once the
expressway has been completed."
Construction
Will Violate Provincial Law
All
of the reports are a requirement under the 1997 provincial
Declaration Order that exempted the expressway from part
of the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act. "Any attempt
by the City to start construction before all these reports
have been released and subject to public review and comment
is a clear violation of the Act", said Mr. McLean.
"The penalties run to $25,000 per day."
For
further information please contact:
Friends
of Red Hill Valley
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