Halifax: Morse Brothers claims sand mining is cranberry agriculture, CLWC files SJC brief
UPDATE ON MORSE BROTHERS CRANBERRY LAWSUIT AGAINST TOWN OF HALIFAX TO EVADE REGULATION FOR SAND AND GRAVEL MINING
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State’s highest court to hear arguments September 11, 2026
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CLWC files Amicus Brief on August 21, 2026
For decades, Morse Brothers, a company with cranberry bogs that does commercial sand and gravel mining, has been mining on the shores of Monponsett Pond in Halifax, MA.
In 2022, residents decided they had enough: enough truck traffic through an Environmental Justice community on narrow country roads, mining in their drinking water aquifer, and destroying an archeological site known as the Whaleback. An acrimonious public meeting in fall 2022 led to two of three Boar
The Town issued two cease and desist orders – in December 2022 and July 2024 ordering Morse to stop illegal mining and apply for a permit. Morse applied, the Town granted the permit, but Morse did not like it so Morse sued the Town. Morse claims the mining is cranberry agriculture and exempt from permititng.
Now, Morse is suing the Town and the case is at the Supreme Judicial Court. CLWC filed a brief supporting the Town of Halifax against Morse. See the brief here: SJC 13911-CLWC Amicus Brief w Addendum.2026.08.21.Updated
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2026
CLWC Urges Massachusetts’ Highest Court to Protect Towns’ Authority to Regulate Sand Mining
PLYMOUTH, MA — Community Land & Water Coalition (CLWC) has filed an amicus curiae brief with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Town of Halifax and Town of Halifax Select Board v. Morse Brothers, Inc., SJC-13911, urging the Court to preserve the longstanding authority of cities and towns to regulate sand, gravel, soil and loam removal. CLWC filed its brief on August 21, 2026.
The Halifax case has significance far beyond one cranberry operation or one town. At issue is whether Massachusetts municipalities can use their general earth-removal bylaws to regulate excavation even when the operator claims that the material being removed will ultimately be used for agriculture.
CLWC’s brief argues that state law has expressly authorized municipalities since 1949 to regulate or prohibit earth removal under G.L. c. 40, § 21(17), independently of municipal zoning authority. The Coalition warns that stripping towns of that power could leave communities without one of their most important tools for controlling the impacts of large-scale sand and gravel extraction.
“This case is about much more than Halifax,” said Meg Sheehan, attorney for CLWC. “Across Southeastern Massachusetts, communities are confronting large-scale removal of sand and gravel that can permanently alter the landscape. Towns need the authority the Legislature gave them to protect drinking water, neighborhoods, roads and natural resources. Calling sand mining ‘agriculture’ should not eliminate reasonable local oversight.”
CLWC’s brief describes the potential consequences of inadequately regulated earth removal: impacts to underground aquifers and shared water supplies, changes to stormwater runoff and topography, and loss of vegetation and wildlife habitat. These impacts implicate the health, safety and welfare of entire communities—not simply the use of an individual parcel of land.
Halifax itself argues that the public has a substantial interest in reasonable regulation of earth-removal operations associated with agricultural uses, including protection of public drinking-water supplies. The Town’s permit did not prohibit the earth removal; it allowed it subject to conditions intended to address environmental and neighborhood safety concerns.
The legal question is particularly important in Southeastern Massachusetts, where sand and gravel deposits, cranberry agriculture, forests, wetlands and drinking-water aquifers frequently occupy the same landscape. CLWC argues that the Legislature deliberately gave municipalities authority to develop local solutions to the harmful effects of unrestrained earth removal. The Coalition asks the SJC to preserve that authority rather than create an agricultural exemption capable of shielding substantial excavation from reasonable local regulation.
“Once a sand deposit is excavated and a landscape is fundamentally altered, those resources cannot simply be put back,” Sheehan said. “Local government is often the first—and sometimes the only—line of defense for residents living next to these operations.”
CLWC is a Massachusetts nonprofit grassroots coalition working to protect drinking water, forests, wetlands, rivers, streams, ponds and communities, with a particular focus on Southeastern Massachusetts.
Morse’s Legal Challenge to Earth Removal Permitting
Morse challenges the right of municipalities to regulate earth removal. See the case filings here: Morse Brothers v. Town of Halifax on the Court website
CLWC’s legal brief to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court takes this head on. Read the August 21, 2026 Amicus Brief here. See the Court’s docket of the case here. The oral arguments before the Court is on September 11, 2026. It is open to the public and will be virtual.
About municipal regulation of Earth Removal. Halifax’s general bylaw prohibits earth removal due to its detrimental effects on water supplies, real estate values and the environment. See, General Bylaw, Chapter 144, “Soil Removal.” It prohibits earth removal on land zoned agricultural or residential unless the project qualifies for a permit. It states: “Section 144-1. Permit required. No soil, sand, gravel or loam removal shall be permitted in any area unless and until a permit has been granted by the Board of Selectmen.” There is a limited exemption for certain projects up to 1,000 cubic yards. IF the land is being used agriculturally, the landowner can apply for a permit to remove sand and gravel but it has to be “necessary and incidental” to the agricultural use of the land. To get a permit in 2016 for 50,000 cubic yards and when it applied for the 2022 permit for another 1.1 million cubic yards, Morse claimed the sand mining operation is “necessary” to build a bog and “incidental” to the existing use on the land. Neither is true: Morse cannot show it is necessary to build the bog or that the massive amount is “incidental”.
The Town also has a law prohibiting earth removal within 4 feet of the groundwater.
Morse has mined at least 165,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel the site but an accurate count has never been done.
Mining a Wampanoag Native American Site
Morse is strip mining a geological formation known as the Whaleback Ridge, a forested glacial esker.
The Whaleback is a known Native American Indigenous archeological site. The Whaleback’s hills are about 72 feet with peaks as high as 150 feet. The Whaleback has been studied for its archeological significance to the Indigenous people of the region, the Wampanoag Nation. Much of it has already been destroyed.
Listen here to the President of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe about the importance of the area.
Below: Morse strip mine, Halifax MA, January 2023.
Mining in water supply protection zone
Morse is strip mining in the water protection zones for the Town’s drinking water wells supplied by the underground aquifer. This is against the law. One Halifax public water supply well already tested at 15 ppt for PFAS, just below the EPA limit of 20 ppt. Residents ask what would happen if the wells tested above the EPA limit for PFAS as a result of all of the earth removal in town. Would they have to buy treated water back from Brockton?
The site abuts the MassAudubon Stump Brook Wildlife Sanctuary.
Mining trucks through Environmental Justice neighborhood
Noise, dust, and vibrations from Morse’s truck traffic within feet of homes
The trucking route is through an Environmental Justice community. Residents suffer harm from excessive truck traffic on narrow country roads and safety concerns.
Who’s responsible
Morse appears to be a shell corporation covering for a shady network of sand and gravel mining interests. Oiva Hannula Cranberry Co. of Carver, MA has “management contract” with Morse for the Halifax mining operation. Scott Hannula of Hannula Cranberry chairs the Carver Earth Removal Committee that Carver that issues permits for mining operations. Scott Hannula appears to both own or operate his own cranberry company and the Oiva Hannula Cranberry Co. He is also on the board of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association. According to an affidavit from Morse Brothers, Hannula has a $530,000 contract to “operate the Morse bogs” — which involves sand and gravel mining.
Morse claims it has a “portfolio of approximately 300 total acres of cranberry growing” includes bogs in Halifax, Middleboro and Hanson. Morse claims it is hauling sand from town to town for these cranberry operations and it is exempt from earth removal regulations as “agriculture.” In 2016 the Town gave Morse a permit for 50,000 cubic yards. In April, 2022 Morse applied for another permit to expand by 1.14 million cubic yards. Facing fierce public opposition Morse withdrew the permit application in August 2022. Morse and Ryco Excavating kept mining.
In November, 2023, the Selectboard gave Morse a permit for 20,000 cubic yards, phase 1 of the previously proposed 1.1 million cubic yard operation.
The money: skyrocketing value of sand and gravel
Morse is seeking a permit for 1,140,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel — about $15 million in revenue. The 20,000 cubic yards it recently mined is worth about $200,000.00
Morse’s controller testifies in a sworn affidavit that the Halifax bogs produce about 18,200 barrels of cranberries annually, worth about $820, 000 in annual total revenue. Multiple sources put the cost of production of a barrel of cranberries at $30-35 per barrel. For Morse’s Halifax bogs, the cost of production for 18,200 barrels would be about $546,000 to 637,000. This means cranberries from the Halifax bogs generate about $183,000 and $290,000 in annual profits. The controller testifies that Morse has a contract with Ovia Hannula Cranberry for “management contracts” that requires Morse to pay Hannula about $530,000 per year to manage the Halifax bogs, on the low end of a cost of production. Profits from sand and gravel mining of about $1 million per year for 5 years outweighs cranberry profits even in the best scenario at $290,000. per year.
Morse also receives state and federal taxpayer subsidies. Since 2019, the state’s Cranberry Revitalization Program has given out about $1 million in taxpayer subsidies annually to the cranberry industry. From 2019 to 2022, Morse received $150,000 under this program, including $75,000 for the fiscal year 2023 while illegally mining in Halifax. According to Environmental Working Group, Morse has received federal agricultural subsidies of $640,663 since the 1990s.
Chronology of Key Events
July 24, 2024
Ten Residents Send Notice of Intent to Sue for Damage to the Environment Letter
On July 24, 2024, a Ten Residents Group send a notice of intent to sue letter to Morse Bros., Oiva Hannula Cranberry Co., Ryco Excavating and state agencies.
Read more here>>
Read the full coverage of the cease and desist letter, an overview of the Whaleback glacial formation, the history of the cranberry industry’s connection to sand mining, and more, in this in-depth coverage by the Plymouth County Observer.
July 18, 2024
For the second time in two years, the Town of Halifax issued a cease and desist order to Morse Brothers to stop strip mining on the shores of Monponsett Pond. The Town issued a $30,000 civil penalty for mining violations. The victory is directly attributable to the relentless grassroots efforts of Halifax Community for Conservation Efforts
From the Board’s letter:
Multiple truckloads of earth have recently been observed leaving the property. In addition, you stated in an email message to Town Administrator Cody Haddad dated July 12, 2024 that approximately 2,500 cubic yards of material resulting from the prior screening of sand was being moved from the property.
Notwithstanding your assertions in the July 12, 2024 email message, the recent earth removal was not authorized by the Soil Removal Permit because Morse Brothers had already removed almost all of the earth authorized by the Soil Removal Permit.
By letter dated May 3, 2024, Attorney Rosenberg stated that 19,908 yards of sand/earth had been removed from the property during the period of February 12, 2024 to April 5, 2024.
Also, the Board of Selectmen hereby assesses a fine of $30,000 (1500 cubic yards x $20) against Morse Brothers for the recent earth removal, which was performed without a permit pursuant to the Soil Removal By- law and constitutes multiple violations of the Soil Removal By-law. Attached please find written notice of violation pursuant to M.G.L. c.40, §21D.
Read the Halifax Plympton Express story here
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, July 23. They began by entering into executive session to discuss negotiations with the Assistant Town Accountant as well as to discuss strategy with respect to litigation involving Morse Brothers…..
Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “We were made aware recently that Morse Brothers had started or were engaged in trucking what we think is sand, gravel, or some such thing off of their property over the last week or so, couple of weeks, I guess. Once we were made aware of that we discussed with Counsel what to do and the result of that is that the Board has issued a letter to Morse Brothers constituting a cease-and-desist order and an assessment of a fine for multiple violations of the town of Halifax’s soil removal bylaw.” He noted that the letter, which he read during the meeting, had been sent on July 18. A portion of the letter read, “the recent earth removal was not authorized by the soil removal permit because Morse Brothers had already removed almost all of the soil authorized by the soil removal permit. By letter dated May 3, 2024, Attorney Rosenberg stated that 19,908 yards of sand/earth had been removed from the property during the period of February 12, 2024 to April 5, 2024.” The letter also noted that the total earth removal allowed by the bylaw was plus or minus 20,000 cubic yards. Bruno told those assembled that they had been advised by Counsel not to discuss the matter any further in open session.
February 5, 2024
Court denies Morse request for an injunction to stop Halifax from requiring an earth removal permit
January 26, 2024
Media Story here: Sand Wars in Halifax Continue reports the Plympton Halifax Kingston Express — Read the story here
December 2023
Town refuses to enforce zoning bylaw prohibiting mining in drinking water protection district
In late November, 2023 Halifax residents sent a demand for enforcement of the zoning law to the zoning officer of Halifax asking them to rule that the Board of Selectmen Nov. 16, 2023 permit to Morse Brothers, Inc. was illegal. In 2022, the former zoning officer said it was illegal. Yet in 2023, the new zoning officer said the mining was OK under the zoning laws. See the letter here: Halifax Zoning Enforcement Demand Nov 2023
Here’s the building inspector’s denial letter.
November 2023
Town grants earth removal permit, Morse goes to court claiming permit too strict
On November 6, 2023 the Board of Selectmen granted Morse a permit for additional 20,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel. They imposed permit conditions which Morse did not like so it sued the Town. Morse claimed the permit conditions interfere with their “agriculture.” The court denied Morse’s request for an injunction on 2/5/2024. See the court decision here. Superior Ct Denial Morse Motion for Injunction Judge Glenny-2-5-24
The November 6, 2023 hearing on the permit filled the Town Hall to near-capacity. About two dozen Halifax residents spoke against the permit. Not one member of the public spoke for the permit. The public’s concerns and information presented included:
- Threats to public safety from truck traffic on local, unpaved roads
- No benefit to Halifax but a detriment resulting in deforestation, taking earth from Halifax and moving it to another town, and adding 750 truck trips to already deteriorating and degraded roads
- The impact of tractor trailer trucks on underground water and gas lines that lie only about 18″ below the road used as the trucking route. This includes concerns about a possible gas explosion or water main break from the pressure of the loaded trucks .
- Safety of children, many of whom walk or ride their bikes on the road used as the trucking route
- Mining in a water protection district — the town’s zoning law clearly prohibits mining in well protection zones
- Does the Board have authority to issue this permit? Does it require a special permit first, as required because it is not agriculture under the bylaws
- If this earth removal was for agricultural purposes the sand would be used on site but most but not all 20,000 cubic yards of earth will be removed from the site and likely out of town.
- Where is the sand going?
In 2023, the company sought a permit for about 1.1 million cubic yards (see below). It withdrew the permit application in the face of fierce public opposition. Clearly the November, 2023 permit is just Phase 1 of Morse’s plan to excavate the entire 1.1 million cubic yards.
May 2023
Fifteen residents file lawsuit
On May 5, 2023, fifteen Halifax residents filed a civil complaint against Morse, Oiva Hannula Cranberry of Carver, and Ryco Excavating, Inc. and its related entity, Ryco Leasing and Repair, Inc. for “engaging in unpermitted earth removal on the property located at 250 Lignan Street, Halifax.”
The complaint is here. The residents asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction to stop the operation until the case goes trial and got resolved. Stopping the operation is necessary to prevent irreparable harm to the environment and residents. The injunction request is here. On June 21, 2023, Superior Court Judge Glenny denied the residents’ motion for an injunction siding with Morse, Hannula and Ryco. The Decision is here. The case was eventually dismissed.
Morse Brothers opposed the injunction and submitted the affidavit of the company’s controller, Brendan Moquin. It is very revealing: it says if Morse is prevented from sand and gravel mining it would be “catastrophic” to Morse’s business. The company makes elaborate claims about all the earth materials needed to maintain its bogs, but the numbers tell another story.
January 10, 2023
On January 10, 2023, the Halifax Selectboard held a meeting to hear residents concerns and address violations of a December 2022 cease and desist. The public, including members of the Halifax Community for Conservation Efforts, presented clear evidence of the violations. They described the threat to public safety from Ryco’s truck traffic, drinking water, nearby conservation lands, wetlands, and “outstanding water resources.”
- A mother spoke about her fear of the safety of their children from constant sand and gravel trucks traveling through the residential street.
- Residents spoke about damage to the Town’s street infrastructure from trucks: culverts in danger of breaking and dangerous road conditions. Residents reported Morse had unlawfully cut the tree buffer along the shore of Monponsett pond.
- Residents explained Morse Brothers has dredged into the aquifer, exposing drinking water to contamination. The mining is within a Zone II Wellhead Protection Area, within Public Supply Watershed, within a Zone A and Zone C Surface Water Protection Area, within an Outstanding Water Resource Area, adjacent to Freshwater Wetlands. It is also adjacent to the Stump Brook Mass Audubon conservation land. Before Morse clear cut and strip mined the 15 acre site it was categorized as Prime Forestland.
At the meeting, Morse Brothers claimed that all the sand gravel removed was going to other bogs they own in Middleborough and Hanson. Residents reported Morse is filling their bogs in Hanson, Middleborough, and at 537 Thompson Street in Halifax with sand 3-4 ft deep. They asked, Why are they filling the bogs with so much sand? Moving earth out of the town without a valid permit, which Morse did not have, is illegal. While Morse attempted to claim an agricultural exemption from the permit requirement, this was not legitimate. Other bogs on the nearby sites are failing due to the high water table.
According to Halifax resident Jeremy Gillespie, “The issue really is, why are they taking the sand out of our water supply protection zones? When they received taxpayer funded grant money from the state for the Middleborough bog project, did they let the state know they’d be taking the sand from these water supply protection zones in another town, whose water supply has been noted as highly susceptible to contamination and abutting the shores of an impaired public water supply lake with an EPA enforceable TMDL?” Read more below about Morse’s taxpayer grants.
December 29, 2022
Town issues cease and desist to Morse and Ryco
Even though Morse withdrew the mining permit application in 2022 (see above) Morse and Ryco Excavating and trucking kept mining at the site.
In December 29, 2022 the Town Board of Selectment issued a Cease & Desist Order to Morse Brothers to stop sand mining. The Cease and Desist is below. Morse, Ryco and Hannula kept conducting earth removal anyway and violated the Cease and Desist according to residents and witnesses.
“The Board is asking that you stop any earth removal…” – December 29, 2022 Letter from the Town of Halifax Board of Selectmen
August 2022
Morse withdraws application to mine 1 million cubic yards of sand and gravel
In early 2022, Morse filed a permit application with the Town to remove more sand and gravel – 1.1 million cubic yards over 4-5 years from the Lignan Street area. Morse withdrew the application on August 12, 2022 when faced with public opposition. Morse claimed the huge operation was “incidental” to its cranberry operations.
In August, 2022, the controversy and backlash from residents about the illegal mining operation and expansion proposal resulted in the abrupt resignation of two of the Town’s three Selectboard members. The Chair was working for the company doing the excavation and trucking, Ryco Excavating. This was clearly a conflict of interest. The abrupt resignations were the subject of a Boston Globe article that however missed the point about the sand controversy.
June 2022
Public hearing on Morse’s application for 1,140,000 million cubic yards of sand and gravel
Read the story from Plympton Kingston Halifax Express:
JUNE 24, 2022
BY KRISTY ZAMAGNI-TWOMEY, EXPRESS CORRESPONDENT
The Halifax Selectmen met in-person on the evening of June 14. There was a public hearing for earth removal for the Morse Brothers’ cranberry property. Selectman Alex Meade said, “I remember most of the residents’ concerns were about the roadway itself and dust control. Since then, we’ve had questions about runoff from the trucks so leaking hydraulics things like that. I don’t know if you plan on putting in some kind of catch basin filters in?” “Certainly, we would be willing to talk about that,” the Morse Brothers representative said.
Meade said he would like to have a clear-cut definition of what the expectations are for the road condition as well as dust control. The spokesman said that the earth removal was necessary because the current layout is not conducive to newer ways of growing cranberries. “The things that we are talking about make sense for cranberry production. If we change the property to the new way, it now becomes a highest and best use for that property… there are good things for the town, there are good things for the grower… at the end of the day, we just want to coexist,” he continued.
They showed maps of the property to the residents present for the hearing and said that they were also available at Mass Mapper under Zone 2. Residents spoke about their concerns including home depreciation and the safety of children. One resident said that they already deal with being inconvenienced in September and October but said that was just part of the cranberry business. He said, however, that this was different and would cause disruption for years. Another resident said that he worries about the environmental impact of the properties surrounding the one in question including walking trails leading into Burrage. Another resident asked that the official abutters list be expanded to include more properties. Someone else expressed concern about the ability of first responders to get through to homes given the heavy truck traffic which was described as sounding like an “earthquake.”
The Selectmen agreed to do a site visit and then revisit the project in early August. “I don’t think we are at a point in this project to vote either way,” Selectmen Chair Ashley DiSesa said. [DiSesa works for Ryco and subsequently resigned from the Board]
April 2022
Morse applies for permit to expand sand mine
In April 2022, Morse applied to the Halifax Selectboard for a permit to remove 1.14 million cubic yards of sand and gravel to create “cranberry bogs and water supply ponds.” This would entail about 35 truck trips on week days for 5-6 years. It would level the Whaleback esker and mine in the aquifer. The total site disturbance is 67.1 acres.
Town’s report on Morse Brother’s earth removal permit application for 1,140,000 cubic yards on the Whaleback Ridge
Application from Morse Brothers Inc. and Grady Consulting for Earth Removal Permit for 250 Lingan Street
More information & press
Two members of selectboard resign over Morse Brothers sand mining controversy. Read the Boston Globe story here about Halifax’s one-man Board.
