Do you know about On-Site and Excess Soil Management?

Have you heard of “On-Site and Excess Soil Management” from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks? 

In December 2019, this regulation, under the Environmental Protection Act, was created to support improved management of excess construction soil. These changes reduce soil management costs, while protecting human health and the environment. The key elements of the regulations are: 

• clear excess soil reuse rules and clarity around when excess soil is not a waste 
• clarity on reusing excess soil and replacing of waste-related approvals with regulatory rules for low-risk soil management activities 
• enhanced reuse through improved reuse planning for larger (greater than 2000 cubic metres) and riskier sites (for example, gas stations and industrial sites), including tracking, registration, an assessment of past uses, and if necessary, soil sampling and characterization 
• greater assurance that reuse sites are not receiving waste soil and requiring larger reuse sites (10,000 cubic metres) to register and develop procedures to track and inspect soil received 
• restrictions on landfilling clean soil that is suitable for reuse at a sensitive site (for example, schools and agricultural sites) 

Courtesy of  T. Harris Environmental Management Inc. – see member profile