Frequently Asked Questions

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• Program: Excess Soil

  Topic: Registry

  Toggle the submenu Who needs to file notices?

  As required under the regulation, Project Leaders, Owners and Site Operators are required to use the Excess Soil Registry to file notices for certain Project Areas, Reuse Sites, and Residential Development Soil Depot sites where Excess Soil is generated, transported, temporarily placed, and deposited.

  Project Leaders, Owners and Site Operators can also assign an Authorized Person to file a notice and pay fees in the Registry on their behalf.

  Role definitions

  Project Leader

  In O. Reg. 406/19, the Project Leader means, in respect of a project, the person or persons who are ultimately responsible for making decisions relating to the planning and implementation of the project.

  The Project Leader is responsible for ensuring that a Project Area Notice is filed if required. They must always complete and sign the required declarations that are a component of the notice being filed and pay Registry fees.

  Owner

  A person who owns the land, with an interest upon whose credit, behalf, privity or direct benefit an improvement is made to the premises.

  For a Reuse Site or a Residential Development Soil Depot, an Operator may complete all aspects of the relevant notice filing in the Registry.

  Operator

  A person who has the charge, management, or control of a site. An Operator may be an owner of a property, lease a property or be contracted to operate a Project Area Site, Reuse Site or Residential Development Soil Depot.

  For a Reuse Site or a Residential Development Soil Depot, an Operator may complete all aspects of the relevant notice filing in the Registry.

  Authorized Person

  A person who is authorized by the Project Leader, Owner, or Operator of a site, to complete a notice filing and pay fees on their behalf.

  The Authorized Person can initiate a notice in the Registry if permitted to by the Project Leader, Owner, or Operator of a site, and can complete all required notice information and pay applicable fees on their behalf.

  Qualified person (QP)

  QPs under the regulation have the same meaning as section 5 and 6 of Ontario Regulation 153/04 (O. Reg. 153/04).

  Section 5 of O. Reg. 153/04 defines a Qualified Person as professional engineers and geoscientists – these are the persons who may oversee or conduct environmental site assessments or complete certifications in a Record of Site Condition. Section 6 of O. Reg. 153/04 sets out the requirements for Qualified Persons who conduct or oversee a risk assessment.

  A QP may be designated as an Authorized Person by the Project Leader or by an Owner/Operator to file a notice to the Excess Soil Registry on their behalf.

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• Program: Excess Soil

  Topic: Amendments , Registry , Reporting

  Toggle the submenu Do the amendments to the Excess Soil Regulation made in April 2024, change anything for my organization?

  “In April 2024, the Government of Ontario finalized amendments to Reg. 406/19: On-Site and Excess Soil Regulation (Excess Soil Regulation) and the Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards (Soil Rules), which came into effect April 23, 2024. A key amendment made to the regulation means: Enhanced usability of project leader-owned or controlled storage sites (Class 2 soil management sites and local waste transfer facilities) and soil depots to allow for larger volumes of soil being managed without requiring a waste approval, now up to 25,000 m3 (previously 10,000 m3) with additional flexibility for public bodies and having greater alignment of rules across sites.

  If you have questions about the Excess Soil Regulation or the amendments, contact the ministry at MECP.LandPolicy@ontario.ca. See our FAQ to see “Who needs to file notices?”

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• Program: Excess Soil

  Topic: Registry , Regulation , Reporting

  Toggle the submenu Do the amendments to the Excess Soil Regulation made in 2022 change anything for me?

  In December 2022, the Government of Ontario finalized amendments to O. Reg. 406/19: On-Site and Excess Soil Regulation (Excess Soil Regulation) and the Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards (Soil Rules), which came into effect January 1, 2023.

  If a project triggers the filing requirements under the Excess Soil Regulation, the process for filing notices has not changed.
  However, the amended regulation may affect the types of projects for which a notice is required to be filed through the Excess Soil Registry.

  The two key amendments made to the regulation mean:

  • Reuse planning requirements are not triggered for projects defined as “low-risk project areas”, being a property at which the current or last property use was agricultural or other, residential, parkland or institutional (as defined under O. Reg. 153/04), that would otherwise have been triggered to complete reuse planning requirements as a result of being located within an area of settlement and removing at least 2,000m3 of excess soil. Other triggers for reuse planning may still apply.
  • The limit on the maximum size of soil storage piles (previously 2,500 m3) has been removed. Other soil storage rules would continue to apply, including the requirement to prevent any adverse effects.

  If you have questions about the Excess Soil Regulation or the amendments, contact the ministry at MECP.LandPolicy@ontario.ca.

  See our FAQ to see “Who needs to file notices?”

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