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March 13, 2023

In December 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks finalized O. Reg. 406/19: On-Site and Excess Soil Management (Excess Soil Regulation), supported by the Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards document (Soil Rules), to support local reuse of excess soil. This regulation is being phased in, and the first part came into effect on January 1, 2021.

As of January 1, 2023, the second phase of the Excess Soil Regulation came into effect, which includes:

Excess soil reuse planning requirements for certain projects
Registration and procedures for large reuse sites
Physical or electronic hauling records
Registration for residential development soil depots

To help ensure the regulation and Soil Rules document are effective and practical, amendments were also made to the Excess Soil Regulation, which came into effect on January 1, 2023. To find out more about the amendments, please see the Environmental Registry of Ontario.

Excess Soil Webinars

MECP will be hosting webinars to provide information on the key requirements under the regulation, on the following topics:

Low Risk Projects: this webinar is focused on projects that do not have to complete the excess soil reuse planning requirements, but may still be required to follow other requirements for soil management under the regulation.
Project Area Requirements: this webinar is for general requirements for a project excavating soil, including the reuse planning requirements for larger and riskier projects

If you are interested in one of these topics, please register through the Eventbrite links provided below:

Topic Areas	Date and Time	Registration Link
1. Low Risk Projects	March 21^st, 2023, 9:30-11:30a.m.	https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/515152524067
2. Project Area Requirements *Please only register for one of the two sessions and do not also register for the low risk webinar (these will cover everything covered in that webinar)	Choice of 2 dates: March 23^rd, 2023, 9:30-11:30a.m.	https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/514398558937
	March 30^th, 2023, 9:30-11:30a.m.	https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/515065543907

*Note: registration is required and there are limited spots available, so we ask that you register early and please limit the number of representatives attending from your organization.

Resource Sheets

To support implementation of the Excess Soil Regulation, MECP has also developed a series of resource sheets to provide a plain language description of regulatory requirements, including flow charts and diagrams to assist with understanding.

Resource sheets on the following topics are attached for your reference:

Low risk properties CLICK HERE!
When is excess soil reuse planning required CLICK HERE!
Delineating a project area CLICK HERE!

Other educational materials to support regulatory implementation can also be found through the ministry’s Handling excess soil web page. This includes ministry and OPS-developed best practices and guidance, including the ministry’s more extensive fact sheets, as well as links to guidance and other materials developed by external partners.

For information on how to access the Excess Soil Registry, how to file a notice, and related training materials, please visit the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority’s website. Filed notices are publicly available and can also be accessed through that website.

Please pass this e-mail along to colleagues, members of your organization, and other organizations that may be interested.

If you have any questions, please contact us by e-mail at mecp.landpolicy@ontario.ca.