Noise from a quarry operation across Skookumchuck Narrows from Egmont has residents pressing for changes at the site.
A jaw crusher installed in February at Lafarge Canada's Earle Creek open pit aggregates mine has caused a dramatic rise in the noise levels, said resident Verne Bullock. While he said it usually runs twice a day, prior to loading barges at the site, the din of crusher noise sometimes begins as early as 6 or 7 a.m. and can last until 12:30 a.m.
The Sunshine Coast Regional District's (SCRD) new noise bylaw came into effect on July 24 and specifies quiet hours of 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. and until 9 a.m. on weekends and holidays. However, there's no specific regulation under the bylaw to address industrial noise. "Over the years, we've always had noise, but it's never been of this nature," said Bullock. Lafarge Canada took over the quarry from Argus Aggregates, which operated the pit in the '70s. The new crusher, capable of reducing rocks with a five-foot diameter into crushed gravel, was shut down for maintenance over the summer and started up again at the end of August. Repeated calls to Lafarge's Earle Creek operation and Lower Mainland headquarters were not returned by Coast Reporter's press deadline Wednesday afternoon.
SCRD bylaw officers have looked into the issue and were told by mine manager Rick Wagner that action on reducing noise levels will commence when the direction of prevailing winds changes at the end of September. At that point, a sound engineer will measure the noise levels at the crusher and in Egmont. To Bullock, the wind argument is a delay tactic.
"They used wind as an issue in February and March when the prevailing wind was southeast, and they have been using it for August and September when the prevailing wind is northwest," he noted.
Construction Aggregates mine manager Mike Latimer said noise from the jaw crusher in operation at their quarry in Sechelt is dependant on several environmental variables and can be unpredictable.
"It's really influenced a lot by the weather - cloud cover, barometric pressure, wind, those kinds of things," he said. To confront noise at the Sechelt pit, sound abatement belting constructed from old conveyor belts was installed in the '90s, he said.
More sophisticated noise technology is available and applied in California, he said, where stricter noise standards can mean shutdowns for operations that fail to comply.
Geoff Craig, an Egmont resident and candidate for the Area A (Pender Harbour) director position with the SCRD, said the noise problem is related to the steep rock face created behind the quarry area through extraction of aggregates.
"I've been upset about it for years," said. "It's certainly an issue I would pursue."
Guidelines established when Argus ran the site included noise emission control, dust control and employment consideration for locals. Craig said these standards should continue to be honoured by Lafarge.
"When you buy a corporation, you buy its obligations," he noted.
