- Road repairs and maintenance: increased cost of road repairs and maintenance
- Reduced property values: decrease in surrounding property values
- Reduced tax base:
- lowered municipal tax base (e.g. property owners in the area can request a reduction in assessment values)
- licenced aggregate lands in communities are frequently assessed and taxed at low rates
- loss of municipal assessment when aggregate operations cease (man-made lakes not taxable)
- Municipal costs: additional cost to municipalities for professional consulting fees to ensure compliance by pit/quarry operators
- Insurance and liability: increased liability, indemnification issues and insurance costs may eventually be born by taxpayers
- Emergencies: cost of environmental emergencies and disasters should they occur
- Time: disproportionate amount of time expended by councillors and municipal staff dealing with aggregate issues
- Insufficient annual tonnage fees: reimbursement to the local municipal government(s) is a negligible financial benefit to the local community (less than 10 cents per tonne)
Taken with permission from the Information Guide For Citizens produced by Gravel Watch Ontario