Trent Lakes Council is not supporting a request from a quarry to extend the hours they can operate at two sites in the municipality.
Buckhorn Sand and Gravel had originally been refused the request to expand hours of operation from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday to begin at 5:30 a.m. during the week and to be able to work Saturdays from 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The request was to follow these hours year-round.
The provincial Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is the agency that approves requests and Trent Lakes is asked to comment.
The company also asked that tree removal be allowed 24 hours a day.
One pit is known as the Bass Lane East Quarry and is on Concession 1 and 2 Part Lots 6 and 7 and the other is known as 400 Bass Lane, Concession 1 and 2 Part Lot 5.
In 2023 municipal staff looked into the issue and reported to council they could not support the request for the extended operating hours.
The owner again requested extending the hours in March 2026 and said that other aggregate sites “have much more flexibility in their hours of operation” and said the request is to align the hours of their site with the hours of the other businesses.
In researching the request, municipal planning staff found a letter fro the municipal CAO at the time indicating that the municipality did not support changing the hours for safety reasons for people travelling on Bass Lake Road and County Road 49.
The staff also found a letter from the Director of Public Works in 2022 saying the municipality had no concerns with an exemption to the crushing agreement with the quarry at the Bass Lake pit.
Staff contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, which issues aggregate permits under the Aggregate Resources Act, about the operating hours of other quarries in the area but the ministry said these quarries cannot be compared as each licence is unique as to operations, haulage tonnage and hours of operation.
Staff told council that a new Noise By-Law passed in 2023 doesn’t permit construction noise between 7 p.m. of one day and 7 a.m. the next day but there is an exemption for agricultural, commercial, institutional or industrial activities recognized as Normal Practice.
Planning staff determined that quarry operations are therefore exempt from the noise by-law.
The municipality received two letters from residents in the area of the two quarry locations strongly objecting to the staff conclusion.
“Within the report municipal staff note that the reason it can now be supported due to a new noise bylaw which now excludes industrial activity,” one letter writer said. “I cannot imagine this was the intent of council when updating the noise by-law”.
Deputy Mayor Carol Armstrong said that in her opinion nothing has changed so why would Trent Lakes change their recommendation against extending the hours.
“There is not sufficient data to support the rational that making this change would allow them to be competitive with other quarries,” she said.
Mayor Terry Lambshead said the reason for the earlier hours is that it would allow the quarry operator to have their vehicles make three trips to Toronto in a day instead of the two they currently make.
“The only reason I feel like supporting this is because we can see massive rubble piles in Trent Lakes that never get dealt with,: Lambshead said. “The change will enable them to remove the piles of rubble.”
He said that removing the rubble will allow plants and animals to live in that space.
Councillor John Braybrook said he did not understand how the proponent is disadvantaged and asked how many other quarries start at 5:30 am.
Council discussed a list that was attached to the agenda that listed area quarries and their operating hours. However, many of those quarries were established prior to 2007 so they did not have to specify operating hours on their licences.
Those quarries were shown on the list as being “silent” which planner Adele Arbour explained was MNRF’s way of saying they were established prior to 2007 so their licence does not specify the hours they are/can open Licences issued after 2007 specify operating hours.
Mayor Lambshead proposed a motion that Trent Lakes contact MNRF and let them know the municipality is not opposed to the amended hours and has no concerns with the changes the proponent wants to make to how the site is operating in terms of what direction they quarry in.
That motion was defeated in a recorded vote with Lambshead and Councillor Peter Franzen voting for it and Armstrong, Braybrook and Councillor Joe Cadigan voting against.
Armstrong reversed the motion to say that Trent Lakes is opposed to the amended hours and has concerns with the requested changes in operations.
This motion passed with Armstrong, Braybrook and Cadigan supporting it and Lambshead and Franzen opposed.
