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 MoreAn Overview of Ontario’s Excess Soil Landfill Restrictions
In October 2024, the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) announced they were delaying the final phase of the Excess Soil Regulation, the prohibition on landfilling certain soils, until January 1, 2027. That deadline is now just months away. The final phase of the Excess Soil Regulations, O. Reg. 406/19, will restrict most “clean” soils from being disposed of in landfills. For some companies, this may mean some additional planning will be...
Read MoreChanges to Ontario’s Records of Site Condition and Excess Soil Regulations
As with many of the recent regulatory changes we have documented, the changes below (to Ontario’s Records of Site Condition and Excess Soil Regulation) seem intended to cut red tape, encourage development (including residential development), and spur economic growth. Records of Site Condition In our January 22, 2025, blog, we discussed proposed changes to Ontario’s Record of Site Conditions. On October 23, 2025, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks issued...
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, Conservation...
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