Caledon couple sounds alarm over flyrock risks from proposed CBM blasting quarry

Caledon resident Tony Sevelka was looking forward to enjoying his retirement with his wife, Eileen Markell, and their dog, Lexie after decades of hard work like any other Canadian.

The couple had settled in Cataract, a tranquil hamlet near the northwest corner of Caledon, in 1999, drawn by its serene charm and welcoming community.

Sevelka, who was working as a real estate appraiser, envisioned days filled with adding to his coin collection, quiet walks, going to Zumba classes, and hosting their friends and family in their backyard.

But just as the couple was preparing to enjoy the fruits of their labour, the aggregate industry threw a curveball their way.

In October 2019, they received unexpected news: a potential mega-blasting quarry might be developed down the road from their home. It was a blow that hit harder because, over the years, the couple had already grown accustomed to disruptions they never expected when they first moved in. 

This was their new abnormal normal.

(Anushka Yadav/The Pointer)

“We had two trucks go by today…we’ve lost two pots and the paintings keep moving because of the vibration from trucks on this road. And the mess, it was bumper to bumper trucks,” Markell told The Pointer in an interview on November 21, 2024.

A look inside the Sevelka household. The couple is worried what impact the proposed blasting quarry could have on their beloved home. 

(Anushka Yadav/The Pointer)

They have a home occupation permit through the Niagara Escarpment Commission to permit an art gallery up to a maximum of 25 percent of the floor area of the residence which is filled with beautiful, intricate paintings made by Markell’s father.

The couple even purchased an air purifier for their home, trying to mitigate the effects of the growing pollution and worsening air quality in the area.

“We've always had some kind of filter, but now we're moving to something more permanent,” Sevelka said.

As reported by The Pointer earlier, transportation is the largest contributor to carbon emissions in Caledon, according to a report by The Atmospheric Fund. While traffic along Highway 10 contributes significantly to this, the increasing number of dump trucks transporting aggregate to and from quarries in the region is a major factor as well.

According to the MTO’s 2015 Peel Commercial Vehicle Travel Profile, trucks carrying minerals—primarily gravel—account for 6 percent of commercial vehicle trips (about 29,000 weekly trips) but make up 20 percent of the cargo weight in the region, with a staggering 642,000 tonnes of gravel transported every week.

With the potential development of a blasting quarry, the air quality in the area is expected to deteriorate even further, both from the blasting itself and the increase in truck traffic hauling gravel.

Sevelka says it’s frustrating to think that they’ll have to seal their pool during summertime, avoid growing vegetables in their backyard or dry their laundry on a clothesline outside because he’s worried about the toxic fumes and dust that’ll come from the quarry. 

He says that outdoor amenity space is “one of the most important things” for families like his, who live in rural or semi-rural areas and will be affected by air pollution, noise pollution, and vibration from a blasting quarry.

“This is where we have our enjoyment. This is where we entertain. This is where we invite people…We sit by the pool, or we have a barbecue. We're on the patio. You won't be able to do those things,” he added.

In his upcoming paper, Sevelka highlights how aggregate extraction operations pose a significant risk to renewable energy sources, such as solar and geothermal systems. 

Vibrations from blasting can damage solar panels and mounting structures, misaligning them, reducing efficiency, and increasing maintenance costs. Similarly, geothermal systems are vulnerable to seismic activity and airblast, which can disrupt reservoirs and damage infrastructure. 

Additionally, dust and toxic fumes from quarry operations can harm the health of workers and nearby residents while accelerating corrosion and shortening the lifespan of energy systems, ultimately raising repair and replacement costs.

This will be Sevelka’s seventh paper to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. 

“Now I've become an expert in this area. But it was not by design. It was never on my bucket list. It was not something I wanted to do,” he added. “You can’t learn it overnight. I just keep learning more disturbing things and the future’s not getting brighter for me.”

He has dedicated much of his time and energy to studying the issue, particularly the risks posed by flyrock.

“There is no standardized definition of flyrock, which complicates understanding the potential adverse effects associated with blasting rock,” Sevelka notes in one of his studies published in December 2022. 

The U.S. Department of Labor defines flyrock as “the fragments of rock thrown and scattered during blasting – is responsible for a large proportion of all blasting-related injuries and fatalities. Flyrock is a potential hazard anytime and anywhere there is blasting.”

In Canada, only the government of Nova Scotia presents a definition of flyrock as “rock that is thrown through the air as a result of blasting. Flyrock is an integral part of blasting that needs to be properly controlled.” 

“If flyrock is uncontrolled the rocks, which can travel significant distances, pose a risk to persons involved with blasting as well as anyone else in the area of the blast. There is also the potential for damage to nearby property or equipment.”

In the study, Sevelka compiles a list of flyrock incidents across the globe, including one of the earliest recorded incidents in Ontario. In the early 1990s, a blast at a quarry in Coboconk, launched flyrock debris that penetrated the roof of a man’s home, tragically striking and killing the homeowner.

In 2007, Castonguay Blasting Ltd., a Sudbury-based drilling and blasting company, failed to notify the Ministry of the Environment after a blast during a highway project in Marmora sent debris into a nearby house, damaging the roof, siding, and a vehicle. 

Tony Sevelka has become an unofficial expert on flyrock and the aggregate industry. 

(Alexis Wright/The Pointer)

Though the incident was reported to the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Labour, it was not reported to the Ministry of the Environment as required by regulations. 

The company was convicted in 2011 and fined $25,000, plus a $6,250 victim fine surcharge, following an unsuccessful appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal and a subsequent hearing before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Citing the Environmental Protection Act, the ruling mentioned fly rock as a “contaminant” with “adverse effects.” 

Despite knowledge of such incidents, it wasn’t until January of 2022 when the Aggregate Resources Act was updated requiring new quarries “to take all reasonable measures to prevent fly rock from leaving the site during blasting if a sensitive receptor is located within 500 metres of the boundary of the site.”

A CBM spokesperson told The Pointer that if the blasting quarry proposal is approved, the company “plans to conduct blasting in its proposed quarry using state-of-the-art techniques that adhere to Ontario's stringent provincial standards for safety and environmental protection. By employing precise monitoring systems, controlled blast designs, and adhering to strict vibration and noise limits, CBM ensures that the blasting process minimizes the impact on surrounding communities, protects nearby water sources, and safeguards local wildlife with the appropriate setbacks to achieve this protection.”

But the lack of clarity is a major issue. Ontario's Aggregate Resources Act (ARA), which, while governing the aggregate industry, does not clearly define regulations around flyrock and leaves a critical gap in regulation. 

“A licensee or permittee shall take all reasonable measures to prevent fly rock from leaving the site during blasting if a sensitive receptor is located within 500 metres of the boundary of the site,” the ARA mentions.

However, Sevelka argues that more concrete policies are needed to protect the health, safety, and quality of life for residents, and to ensure the long-term sustainability of communities. He proposes three key measures:

1. A minimum onsite setback of 500 metres from property boundaries
2. A minimum offsite separation distance of 1,000 metres from sensitive land uses and settlement area boundaries, and
3. A requirement that contaminants, as defined under the Ontario Environmental Protection Act, remain onsite.

These are necessary since the ARA does not provide specific provisions for preventing flyrock debris from leaving a quarry site, nor does it clarify what “reasonable measures” the blaster-in-charge should take. 

Without a definition of flyrock, it remains unclear what constitutes these “reasonable measures,” leaving the quarry’s responsibility to protect both onsite personnel and the public from the potentially deadly risks of flyrock debris undefined and unquantifiable.

Even the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), the agency responsible for overseeing the ARA, has never conducted an evidence-based, quantitative study of flyrock incidents, despite flyrock being the most dangerous and potentially deadly aspect of blasting, Sevelka notes in a 2023 study.

He argues that there is “no real effective oversight” and that residents “can’t possibly be expected to know” all the details about these issues.

He adds that it's unreasonable to expect people to protect themselves from the impact of blasting, saying, "Residents shouldn't have to build their homes to fortress standards just to safeguard themselves from these risks. Even if my house has existing cracks, that doesn't give anyone the right to cause further damage. The suggestion that it's my fault for not building a 'castle' is utterly ridiculous."

It’s been more than five years since Sevelka first encountered the proposal for a blasting quarry in Caledon, and in that time, he has dedicated countless hours to studying the far-reaching impacts of flyrock on infrastructure, public health, the environment, and local real estate.

Suffering from bronchitis himself, he is worried that air pollution from gases like nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen sulphide emitted during the process of blasting will worsen his condition. Dust containing crystalline silica, a carcinogen, also threatens both workers and nearby residents.

As previously reported by The Pointer, the proposed CBM quarry will involve blasting below the water table that feeds the Credit River, posing a serious risk of altering the flow of nearby groundwater, potentially diverting its course.

Aggregate extraction also removes habitats, fragments ecosystems, and disrupts wildlife movement, reducing biodiversity. Soil degradation and land subsidence further harm the environment and local infrastructure. 

Flyrock from blasting can cause property damage and injuries, while the visual and climate impacts of these operations leave long-lasting scars on both the landscape and the global climate.

Markell jokingly remarks that whenever she sees photos of Mars on social media, it reminds her of Caledon Ward 1, with its cratered moonscapes resembling the barren terrain of the red planet.

It's a heartbreaking irony that residents, like Sevelka and Markell, of one of the “greenest towns in Ontario” now find themselves fighting to protect their greenspaces—and, more urgently, their right to live without the constant threat to their safety and well-being.

A 2023 University of Belgrade study suggests that blasting mats are effective in minimizing flyrock impact by covering the blasting site. They help protect surrounding areas from damage, reduce shock waves and noise, and are especially recommended for urban blasting, demolition, and surface mining operations with higher flyrock risk. 

“If there is a need for blast mats at any time during the operation, they would be utilized per the recommendations from the third-party blasting specialists utilized by CBM at the time,” the CBM spokesperson said in a statement. 

Sevelka argues that blast mats are ineffective, as they can become part of the flyrock. In one of his studies, he cites a flyrock incident on May 23, 1994, at a limestone quarry in Madison County, Illinois. Despite the use of blast mats, flyrock from the blast struck and killed a 21-year-old crane operator who was positioned 120 feet (36.6 meters) away.

During his extensive research, he also uncovered a troubling detail: Caledon had enacted a noise and vibration bylaw in 2008, only for it to be quietly repealed in 2019—without any public hearing or notice.

The town’s “current public notice policy does not require notification with respect to a repeal of a by-law,” a town spokesperson had told Sevelka in an email.

The bylaw repeal was slipped through during a ‘confidential session’ on December 7, 2019, when a solicitor-client privilege report was presented to the General Committee. Just ten days after that meeting, the bylaw was officially repealed.

“It was at the end of the year, they had all these other things they were voting on, it got shoved in there and nobody caught it,” he said.

“Ian Sinclair said he couldn’t believe he missed it,” Markell added.

Sevelka was also baffled by the legality of a settlement agreement made with an individual when the bylaw applied to the entire municipality. 

“Usually, exceptions are made for properties, not individuals. So, I don’t even know how they were able to do this legally,” Sevelka said.

He was also one of the people who recommended implementing the interim control bylaw (ICBL), which paused any new aggregate operations in Caledon for one year.

In October 2024, the Town of Caledon discussed introducing new requirements for blast impact assessments as part of an Official Plan amendment. These include a flyrock management plan and a vibration management plan—directly linked to the proposal by Canada Building Materials (CBM) for an 800-acre mega quarry in the area.

While any additional policies and safety measures are an improvement over the Town's previous regulatory approach, critics argue that the new provisions still fall short as crucial elements are missing, such as mandatory setbacks for aggregate operations from residential properties. 

The language used in the proposed policies is also seen as non-committal, with operators merely "encouraged" to undertake certain studies or "may" create specific plans, rather than being required to do so.

The CBM quarry proposal has effectively been on hold since the Town implemented the ICBL at the start of the study process. 

The bylaw was extended in 2023 but was appealed by CBM at the Ontario Land Tribunal. It expired on October 18.

The proposed quarry is also diagonally situated next to a gas station, a detail that has received little attention but could have disastrous consequences in the event of a flyrock incident or blasting-related disruption, which could endanger public safety and cause severe damage to nearby houses. 

With the quarry potentially starting within four years, the future of the town remains uncertain. Sevelka, however, is resolute in his commitment to fight for Caledon, aiming to bring the deadly issue of flyrock to the forefront.

For Markell, who has been fighting alongside her husband, the situation has become a constant topic of conversation. "It's like this cloud hanging over your head," she says. "You wake up and wonder, 'Will I be here next year? Should we sell? Could we even sell if we put the house on the market?' It's certainly easier to sell now than when the quarry is active."

Email: [email protected]

At a time when vital public information is needed by everyone, The Pointer has taken down our paywall on all stories to ensure every resident of Brampton, Mississauga and Niagara has access to the facts. For those who are able, we encourage you to consider a subscription. This will help us report on important public interest issues the community needs to know about now more than ever. You can register for a 30-day free trial HERE. Thereafter, The Pointer will charge $10 a month and you can cancel any time right on the website. Thank you