May 28, 2003
For Immediate Release

Today, two environmental groups -- Friends of Red Hill Valley and the Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment (CONE) - wrote to the NEC asking it to issue a stop work order under the province's Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act against any construction work in the portion of the Red Hill Valley that lies within NEC jurisdiction until such time as the City has applied for and received a new Development Permit.

The two environmental groups decided to take this action after the City failed to heed repeated warnings that a new NEC Development Permit was needed for work in the Valley that the City proposes to begin this summer.

"The NEC has used its legislative power to step in and stop a private landowner from building a pig farm and another from digging a pond without permits -- surely they will hold the City of Hamilton to the same standard for a massive expressway through the face of the Escarpment," said Jason Thorne, Executive Director of the Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment (CONE), a watchdog group that has been monitoring development on the Escarpment since 1978.

In their letter, the environmental groups site several instances dating back to 1996 where the NEC has informed the City that a new Escarpment Development Permit is needed. The most recent instance was a letter dated December 10, 2002 from the NEC to the City of Hamilton which was obtained by a member of Friends of Red Hill Valley using the City of Hamilton's Freedom of Information process.

"The City of Hamilton has had enough warnings going back seven years now. It is time for the NEC to stand behind its own policies and demand that the City apply for an Escarpment Development Permit. And they should use their power to order a stop to construction until that has happened," said Thorne.

The City is relying on a 1987 permit that the NEC was ordered to provide by the 1985 Consolidated Joint Board decision. But very substantial changes have been made to the expressway project since the 1987 NEC permit was granted, especially within the 50% of the valley that is under the jurisdiction of the NEC. The escarpment crossing has been completely re-designed and now includes an 80-metre-wide cut in the face of the escarpment, a 220-metre viaduct, and a reconfigured Greenhill Avenue interchange. In addition, the City's plans now call for major additional disruptions to the valley lands that were not even contemplated in 1987. These include the relocation of virtually all of Red Hill Creek, as well as the construction of five stormwater ponds and a large temporary flood zone.

The December 2002 letter is not the first time that the NEC has warned the City that a new Development Permit is required for the current design for the expressway. The NEC informed the City back in 1996 that this was its position. In 1997, the provincial Cabinet made the securement of a new Escarpment Development Permit one of the conditions of the Cabinet order that exempted the Expressway from the province's Environmental Assessment Act.

The December 2002 letter indicates that the NEC has not changed its position since 1996.

While an application for a Development Permit may not ultimately halt the Expressway, CONE and Friends of Red Hill Valley contend that fairness demands that the City follow the proper NEC process.

"No one is above the law and it is up to the NEC to remind the City of that," said Thorne.

The missing Niagara Escarpment permit is just one of a long list of outstanding approvals that the City still requires for the expressway project. Despite this, City Council has approved initiation of construction.

"In its attempts to start construction without all approvals in place, the City is making a mockery of the laws and policies built up over the years to protect our environment. The City's behaviour is shameful," said Don McLean, chair of Friends of Red Hill Valley.

Jason Thorne, Executive Director
Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment
P: (519) 853-4955
Cell: (416) 892-4861

Don McLean, Chair
Friends of Red Hill Valley
P: (905) 664-8796

Copies of the letter from CONE and FRHV to the NEC requesting the stop work order is available by clicking here.

Copies of the December 10, 2002 letter from the NEC to the City of Hamilton and the City's response are available from FRHV upon request.