Natural aggregates remain, and are foreseen to be, the best materials available for road construction. Environemental awareness has emerged as a major concern and initiative of governments during the 1980's. Access to aggregates for road construction has become increasingly restricted due to urban growth, and environmental and social concerns. The Ministry of Transportation, Ontario (MTO) has a directive which has been in effect since 1977 to provide for consultative clearance and procedures for pits and quarries for ministry use. This directive has been recently revised and re-issued to include detailed clearance procedures for MTO aggregate extraction sites. The directive contains procedures for obtaining and procedures for obtaining and handling Wayside Permits, Letters of Approval, and to introduce new procedures for obtaining and Aggregate Permits and Permits to Extract Aggregates on Indian Reserve Lands, and approval of Closure Plans for quarries. This paper describes ministry policies and procedures for sustainable development of aggregate operations, and their promotion of environmentally-progressive rehabilitation methods. (A)
Abstract