Digby quarry rejection on environmental grounds could set precedent: panel chair

The chair of a review panel that rejected plans for a huge quarry in Nova Scotia's Digby County, in part because of potential environmental damage, is glad all levels of government agree, and hopes it sets a precedent.

Bob Fournier concluded that the Whites Point quarry and marine terminal would lead to irrevocable and undesired changes in the community's quality of life and cause adverse environmental affects.

After a three-year review, thepanel rejected the proposal by Bilcon, a subsidiary of New Jersey-based Clayton Concrete, Block and Sand, to quarry basalt rock out of about 120 hectares of a 150-hectare site at White's Cove.

Bilcon planned to ship two million tonnes of rock a year to the United States for the next 50 years.

This week, the federal environment minister said he agreed to reject the project. Nova Scotia's environment minister made the same decisionlast month.

Fourniernow hopes his report couldhave broader effects.

"What we built into the process is an out-and-out rejection that says this is not any good for this environment, under any circumstances," he said. "And that hasn't been done before."

Fournier now hopes the province will follow through on the panel's request that a coastal management zone be created.

"There'll be more attempts to open up quarries, and there are at least100 jurisdictions in the world that have coastal zone policies and we don't," he said. "You have got to ask yourself — what are we waiting for?"

In the fall Throne Speech, Premier Rodney MacDonald promised to create a coastal zone policy within two years.