Time to Dish the Dirt: Ontario’s Excess Soil Regime Becomes Law

  • January 14, 2020
  • Matthew Gardner, Anand Srivastava, and Madiha Vallani

Most provisions in the new Excess Soil Regulation[1] will come into force on July 1, 2020.[2] Property owners, developers, consultants, contractors, and municipalities will all be affected. This new law regulates how excess soil is to be managed in Ontario, including:

  1. when “excess soil” is considered “waste”
  1. when handling of “excess soil” is exempt under Ontario’s “waste” regime (including under Reg 347)
  1. when “excess soil” can be lawfully re-used at a property, and
  1. how “excess soil” that is not “waste” can be lawfully transported.

The remaining provisions of the Excess Soil Regulation will not come into force until January 1, 2022,[3] January 1, 2025[4] and January 1, 2026, respectively.[5]

Rules for On-site and Excess Soil Management (which govern the quality of excess soil) are incorporated into law by reference in the Excess Soil Regulation, and include the new Excess Soil Quality Standards.[6]

The new Beneficial Reuse Assessment Tool (a model for developing site-specific excess soil quality standards) is also incorporated into law by reference in the Excess Soil Regulation.