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It all comes down to what neighbour John McKinnon calls an error by the Ministry of Natural Resources. When pit 2907 changed hands, its license was transferred from John Leavitt to Ellbrook Excavating.
Site inspection documents from Leavitt’s operation of the pit state that extraction below groundwater is not permitted under the license.
But when the license was transferred to Ellbrook, an MNR approval letter stated that the pit was permitted to operate below the water table.
“There’s no sense in which this action could be considered the transfer of one and the same license,” said Paul Allen in a deputation to Council on October 21.
Mr. McKinnon, who lives across from the pit on Ridge Road, wrote to the MNR in May 2023, asking about the broadened permissions in the transferred license.
But MNR found it did not have a site plan to turn to for clarification. No one, including the previous and current owners, had a site plan establishing the boundaries and conditions of the quarry operation.
“It’s left everybody, including Ellbrook, in limbo,” Mr. Allen noted.
Grandfathered Operations
When John Leavitt opened the pit in 1965, regulations were less stringent. In 1990, the province passed the Aggregate Resources Act, establishing terms that required a site plan and licensing for aggregate operations, along with public consultations and annual reporting to the Ministry.
Because Mr. Leavitt had been operating the pit for decades, it was grandfathered — allowed to continue operations without a site plan. He continued to operate until 2009. The site was licensed as a Class A pit, with explicit orders against excavating below groundwater level.
An email sent by the District Supervisor for the Peterborough MNR office, Deanna Cotter, in June 2023 was obtained by John McKinnon through a Freedom of Information request. It said that the allowance to extract below groundwater level was made in error and would require an update from the Aggregate Section of the MNR.
In July 2023, Dr. Pankaj Vaishnav, a Technical Specialist with the MNR, wrote to Ms. Cotter that the Aggregate Section had been contacted about correcting the error.
But the matter has yet to be resolved. Ellbrook purchased the property with the intention to extract below groundwater level. That information is available on Pits and Quarries Online.
Meanwhile, Ellbrook leased the property to Ryan Amos, who owns and operates another pit down the road that extracts below groundwater level. Mr. Amos contacted the MNR in March 2024 to ask what the limitations were. He was told by Ms. Cotter that without a site plan, extraction below water level was “not confirmed.”
In 2024, the MNR Aggregate Section created recommendations for Ellbrook and Mr. Amos to follow for a new site plan, which included retaining a qualified professional to assess the depth of the water table. Once that information is available, the Ministry will provide guidance on a new site plan.
In February 2025, Ms. Cotter confirmed that Ellbrook and Mr. Amos would be permitted to use neighbouring monitoring wells if their owners agreed.
But no site plan has been created.
In the meantime, residents are worried about activities undertaken without prior public consultation. An MNR inspection of the property in June 2023 found infractions relating to signage, gates, the location of stockpiles, and setbacks from the licensed boundary. Since that report, however, Ellbrook has been in compliance.
Around this time, some neighbours were concerned that noise and vehicles indicated excavation had already begun. But an Ellbrook rep, Brook Cranston, confirmed in an email to MNR that they had not extracted any aggregate. They had been digging only to see what was there.
Mr. Cranston did not respond to a request for comment.
Neighbours are also concerned about the possibility that Ellbroook will proceed with below water-level extraction without a license, which would require hydrogeological studies, consultation with other Ministries and Quinte Conservation, and public consultation.
“That’s why I’m in this. I don’t want my water affected,” said Mr. McKinnon.
Following Mr. Allen’s deputation, Council carried a motion to direct the Mayor to consult with staff on potential representations to the MNR.
“This should be treated by the Ministry as a new application,” said Councillor John Hirsch. “Pits in this area have been controversial, as everybody knows.”
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