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3/bSt Ministry of Environment and Energy ^-'c'p. dc^Py- Niagara Escarpment Plan five-year review ABOUTTHE ESCARPMENT TheNiagaraEscarpmentPlanAreastretches725 counties,fourregionalmunicipalitiesand37local kilometresfromQueenston,nearNiagaraFalls,to municipalities—areregulatedbytheNiagara theislandsoffTobermoryatthetipoftheBruce EscarpmentPlan. ThisPlan,establishedin1985,is Peninsula. Theescarpmentreachesaheightof510 administeredbytheNiagaraEscarpment metresinsomelocations. Commission,aprovincialgovernmentagencywhich Itwasformed450millionyearsagoalongthe reportstotheMinistry'ofEnvironmentandEnergy. shoreofashallowtropicalseathatcoveredavast TheNiagaraEscarpmentPlanwasfirst areaofOntarioandMichigan. Skeletonsof approvedin1985. UndertheNiagaraEscarpment primitiveseacreaturesanddebrisfromancient PlanningandDevelopmentAct,thePlanwas mountainswerecompressedintomassivelayersof subjecttoreviewafterfiveyearsinoperation. A reefandsedimentaryrock. Oversucceeding Planreviewdocument,preparedbythe millionsofyears,erosionfromglaciers,ancient Commission,wasthesubjectof86daysandseven rivers,lakesandtheelementssculptedtherock eveningsofpublichearingsbyatwo-f)ersonhearing panelduring1991 and1992. Duringthehearings,in layersintotheirpresentform. Today,theescarpmentisoneofthelargest BurlingtonandOwenSound,183witnesses remainingwoodedareasinsouthernOntario. It app>earedand458exhibitswerepresented. alsocontainsarichvarietyoffarms,recreational Thehearingofficers'reportwasreleasedin areas,scenicviews,wildlifehabitats,historicsites, March1993. InAugust1993theCommission villages,townsandcities. Thecedartreeshugging releaseditsresponsetothisreportandsubmittedits thefaceoftheescarpmentconstituteanoldgrowth proposedplantoEnvironmentandEnergyMinister BudWildman. forestwithsometrees,thoughsmall,foundtobe Mr.Wildmanacceptedmostofthehearing over700yearsold. In1990,theescarpmentwasdesignatedaWorld panel'sPlan-related recommendations(94of124). BiosphereReservebytheUnitedNations InMarch1994,hereleasedtorpublicreviewthe Educational,ScientificandCulturalOrgaruzation recommendationshemadetoCabinetwhich (UNESCO). differedfromthoseofthehearingofficers. Cabinetreceived453responsestotheminister's notice,frommunicipalities,individualmembersof THE NIAGARA ESCARPMENTPLAN thepublic,environmentalgroupsandbusmess. The TheNiagaraEscarpmentandlandsinitsvicinity— responsewaslargelyinfavoroftheminister's recommendations. 183,000hectaresor1,830squarekilometresinfour © Ontario PiaS3l65E HIGHLIGHTSOFTHEPLANAPPROVEDBY FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CABINET PleasecalltheNiagaraEscarpmentCommission: ThePlan,firstapprovedin1985,hasprovenitselfto beamodelforenvironmentalplans. The Georgetown-905-877-5191 governmenthasapprovedanewPlanthat Torontophoneline-905-453-2468 continuestoprotectthecorenaturalandbuffer areasintheEscarpmentNatural,Protectionand RuralAreasofthePlan. Itfeatures: • continuedprotectionoftheEscarpment Natural,ProtectionandRuralAreas; • continuedpermissionforcompatiblelanduses inthePlanAreawhereitwillnotaffectthe importantnaturalareas; • concentrationofdevelopmentinthecities, townsandvillagesratherthanthecountryside throughaprohibitiononnewsubdivisionsin theRuralAreaandtighterrestrictionsonlot severancesintheRuralandProtectionAreas; • aprohibitiononnewgolfcoursesinthe ProtectionAreainordernottoalterthe topographyoftheescarpmentslopes; • recognitionoftheimportanceofthetourist, industryalongtheescarpmentthroughcriteria forbedandbreakfastfacilitiesandforvwieries; and • an18-monthstudyofaggregateextractionto assesstheviabilityoftheNiagaraEscarpment asasourceofmineralresources. The 18-monthholdonprocessingnew applicationsisnotexpectedtoaffectaggregate supplyforimportantupcomingprojects. The holdisnotbeingappliedretroactivelytofive applicationscurrentlyinprogressandwillnot affectexistingaggregatelicences,wheresup- pliesareexpectedtolastseveralyears.