Ontario’s Excess Soil Management: Questions and Misgivings

Posted by on Jun 28, 2024 in Blog | 0 comments

In January 2022, everyone was scrambling to meet the new Excess Soil rules and requirements, only to have the rules paused on April 21, 2022.  Since the final rules were modified and implemented, there has been renewed debate over fees and questions about overall compliance.

Increased Excess Soil Fees

As we reported in our April Environmental Compliance Tip, the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority announced new soil fees for 2024.

From Environmental Science and Engineering, “Higher Excess Soil Registry fees for users will be spread out over five years instead of three, following feedback from a consultation period, says Ontario’s Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA).  But users might be taken aback by some of the increases.”

Some of the fees jumped significantly for 2024.  For the largest generators of excess soils (volumes greater than 500,000 cubic metres), fees increased by 400%, from $30,000 to $150,000.

When the increases in fees were announced in late 2023, there was speculation that it could lead to illegal movement of soil.

Construction Site

Proper management of excess soil in Ontario (O.Reg. 406/19) is important, for the environment and the economy.

Questions about Municipalities’ Compliance with Excess Soils

In a recent article in Daily Commercial News, they reported that compliance at the municipal government level seems to be sketchy.  The article states that industry frustration is growing. “Registration compliance is not occurring.  It’s bad enough private companies are not complying with aspects of O. Reg. 406/19, but neither are many municipalities.”

“Industry sources have told the Daily Commercial News an initial analysis of registry figures indicates from Dec. 1, 2021 to June 6, 2024, there were 951 total registrations.  Only half of those were for projects where soil was either being generated or received.”

The article goes on to report, “There are 444 municipalities in Ontario.  Yet, registrations occurred in only 149.  Could this mean that during 30 months, nearly two-thirds of all municipalities in Ontario had no construction activity, either private or public, that would have been subject to registrations under O. Reg. 406/19?  This seems unrealistically low.”

Are municipalities unaware of the registration requirements, or are they knowingly ignoring them?  Further, how have the increases in fees affected the handling of excess soils?

It was widely recognized for a number of years that we needed some way to track the movement of excess soils from construction.  In 2016, we authored an article discussing the haphazard manner by which soils from construction activity were being handled.

More recently, we questioned whether the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks was giving fair consideration to naturally-occurring background levels of some metals.  This, in our opinion, could lead to unnecessary landfilling and the associated expense of managing soils (see “Naturally-elevated metals concentrations are resulting in more landfilling and less beneficial reuse of soils”).

Protecting the Environment and the Economy

Keeping construction activity moving is critical for the economy of Ontario.  Likewise, ensuring the movement of soil is handled responsibly is important for protecting the environment.

We have been working with many contractors since the excess soil regulations were established.  Understanding the nuances of the regulations and developing the best possible strategy to responsibly manage the soils while limiting costs takes time.  We need to make sure we have a level playing field for all and that we avoid the mismanagement of construction soil.

If you need assistance with an environmental issue (compliance, assessments, remediation, excess soil, litigation support, etc…), contact Christopher Pare’, P.Geo. Q.P. at 519-948-7300, Ext. 114.  

Dragun Corporation does not use artificial intelligence in drafting our blogs or any other material.

Alan Hahn drafted this blog.  Alan has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and completed a graduate program in Environmental Management.  He has worked in environmental management for more than 45 years.  He has written hundreds of blogs and articles.  His published work includes HazMat Magazine, BizX Magazine, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, GreenStone Partners, Manure Manager Magazine, and Progressive Dairy.

Christopher Paré, P.Geo, reviewed this blog.  Chris is a senior geoscientist and manager of Dragun’s Windsor, Ontario, office.  Chris has more than 30 years of experience on projects ranging from environmental site assessments (Phase One/Two ESA), excess soils, remedial investigations, soil and groundwater remediation, Permits to Take Water, Records of Site Conditions, vapour intrusion, and site decommissioning.  Chris is a frequent speaker, author, and expert witness.  See Chris’ bio.

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