Magnum, the company responsible for developing a rock quarry in the Rainbow Lake area, is leaving homeowners in the dark according to one resident.
“They have been blasting with no notice or whistle. I actually jumped behind my truck one time because I didn’t know what was happening,” Rainbow Crescent resident Bernie Bernkopf told Port Edward council on April 9, listing a number of times when unexpected explosions occurred.
“We’re essentially living our lives in an active blasting zone… Obviously this is going to have a detrimental effect on our quality of life.”
This was the first time council had heard of any concerns about the project, and they were taken aback.
“If a blast is going off, there are only a small number of houses there and if the company can’t have someone going to every door to say they are going to be blasting then that is a major concern… It concerns me that they can’t even have someone sitting in a truck and blasting their horn to let people know,” said councillor Murray Kristoff.
“They should at least be able to post a weekly schedule of the expected hours of blasting,” added chief administrative officer Ron Bedard.
However, Magnum president Mike Scott said the company has been doing everything it needs to when it comes to clearing the site.
“We haven’t done any blasting in quite some time, but when we do we make sure that all of the rules and regulations are followed. We always have proper procedures in place and are 100 per cent committed to safety,” he said, adding that Bernkopf hasn’t spoken to the company about his concerns.
