Trout Lake Campers Association wins reprieve from proposed gravel operation

A group representing a number of camp owners at a lake just north of Thunder Bay, Ont., says it has won a reprieve from a proposed gravel pit near Trout Lake.

The decision was made in May of 2019, after a "long day" of hearings, involving the Trout Lake Campers Association and property owners around the lake, along with representatives from Lempiala Sand and Gravel, the company proposing to extract material from a site south west of the lake.

The LPAT determined the original zoning bylaw, passed in 2016, and altered in 2018, did not take into account the social and environmental impacts of the operation.

The planning board, the LPAT stated, did not consider operational impacts of the pit, and assumed those concerns would be dealt with by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, while administering the Aggregate Resources Act.

The applicant for the site noted 90,000 tonnes of material would be taken from the site annually, which would result in a dump truck leaving the area every ten minutes. The material would be hauled to a plant on Dog Lake Road for processing.

Planning representatives for Lempiala Sand and Gravel argued the planning process favoured economic development, which should take a precedence over the concerns of the area residents. The LPAT disagreed with that argument, saying recreation and industrial uses for land should be given equal weighting.

The decision also noted that when residences, being seasonal or permanent are pre-existing, it changes how industry must be considered in an area.