By Brad Sawdon, Senior Project Manager, P.Geo.  and Jennifer Wales, Project Manager, P.Eng.

The requirements in O.Reg. 406/19: On-Site and Excess Soil Regulation (“Excess Soil Regulation”) that were paused by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) in April 2022 come back into full effect on January 1, 2023.

In addition, the MECP has proposed amendments to the Excess Soil Regulation to reduce requirements applicable to low-risk projects and to provide more flexibility when storing excess soil. These amendments also come into effect on January 1, 2023.

Amendment on Planning Requirements for Low-Risk Projects:

The requirements for land that has been used for agricultural or residential purposes located within an area of settlement and intending to remove 2000 cubic meters or more of excess soil have been amended for low-risk projects on land that is or was most recently used for an agricultural or other use, or a residential, parkland, or institutional use, as defined in O.Reg. 153/04.

Amendment for Soil Storage:

Section C of the Soil Rules document, pertaining to soil stored in stockpiles and the maximum size of each stockpile has been amended to allow soil storage piles to be a maximum of 10,000 cubic meters. Other soil storage rules continue to apply.

If you’d like to discuss how the Excess Soil Regulation and these amendments may affect your ongoing or upcoming projects/budgets, contact us to connect with one of our professional advisors.

Mr. Brad Sawdon, P.Geo., QP, is a Senior Project Manager at Cambium, who holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo. Mr. Sawdon is a licensed Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.) with the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario and is a Qualified Person (QP_ESA) for Environmental Site Assessments under the Environmental Protection Act.  Mr. Sawdon has 16 years of employment experience in the environmental consulting field, working throughout Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Northwest Territories.

Ms. Jennifer Wales, P.Eng., is a Project Manager at Cambium with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Queen’s University. Ms. Wales is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario. Since 1994, Ms. Wales has been providing engineering services in a variety of fields, including geotechnical and environmental engineering.