In our annual informal survey at CANECT, we asked those in attendance, “What is the most important environmental issue facing the regulated community?” One of the common themes was keeping up with changing regulatory requirements. Perhaps nothing exemplifies this frustration more (trying to keep up with and understand your obligations) than the issue of excess soil (policy/practices/regulation). In 2016, we wrote an article in Environmental Science and Engineering (“How...
Read MoreManaging Excess Soils in Ontario
How you manage excess soils is increasingly important to the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP). The MECP might be more recognizable under its former name, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC). If it’s important to the MECP, it’s important to the regulated community. Concerns about managing excess soils was mentioned as one of the top environmental management priorities for the regulated community in our recent survey. That’s...
Read MoreAmendments to Ontario’s Excess Soil Regulations
The next phase of Ontario’s excess soils regulations is set to take effect on January 1, 2025, (limiting soils that may be landfilled). Ahead of this deadline, there are (additional) proposed amendments to Ontario Regulation 406/19. You may recall that in January 2022, contractors were scrambling to comply with the more stringent soil management requirements. By April 21, 2022, these new requirements were officially paused by the Ministry of Environment,...
Read MoreOntario’s Excess Soil Management: Questions and Misgivings
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...
Read MoreChanges to the Rules for Managing Excess Soil in Ontario
In our October 25, 2023, blog, we discussed the proposed amendments to the Excess Soil Regulation (O.Reg. 406/19) – these amendments were recently finalized. The Excess Soil Regulations are the rules for the management of excess construction soil in Ontario. Below is a general overview of the changes to managing soils in Ontario. However, if you have a specific question about managing excess soil, please contact Chris Pare, P.Geo., Q.P. Chris can provide more specifics...
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