Appendix A - Excess soil definitions

For ease of reference, the following definitions are provided from O. Reg. 406/19 - On-Site and Excess Soil Management and the document adopted by reference under this regulation referred to as the Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards.

In the case of a discrepancy, the source document should be used.

Some additional terms are also included as guidance.

Area of potential environmental concern or “APEC”

the area on, in or under a project area where one or more contaminants are potentially present, as determined through an assessment of past uses, including through, a) identification of one or more potentially contaminating activities; b) identification of one or more potentially contaminating activities

Assessment of past uses study area

the area that includes: 1. the project area; 2. any other property that is located, wholly or partly, within 250 metres from the nearest point on a boundary of the project area; and 3. any property that the qualified person determines should be included as a part of the assessment of past uses study area that is not located, wholly or partly, within 250 metres from the nearest point on a boundary of the project area

Beneficial purpose

the use of excess soil in an undertaking that requires additional soil in order to complete that undertaking. Examples of beneficial purposes include backfill or raising the grade for a planned development. Simple disposal or stockpiling of excess soil is not a beneficial reuse. Often a site-specific instrument would relate to the beneficial purpose, giving permission for soil management for a specified undertaking

Building

the same meaning as in the Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 23

Class 1 soil management site

a soil bank storage site or a soil processing site

Class 2 soil management site

a waste disposal site, other than a Class 1 soil management site, at which excess soil is managed on a temporary basis and that is

1. located on a property owned by a public body or by the project leader for the project from which the excess soil was excavated
2. operated by the project leader for the project from which the excess soil was excavated

Contaminant of concern

one or more contaminants found on, in or under a project area at a concentration that exceeds the applicable excess soil quality standards for the project area

Contaminant of potential concern or “COPC”

includes a contaminant identified as potentially present on, in or under a project area in an assessment of past uses

Crushed rock

a naturally occurring aggregation of one or more naturally occurring minerals that is mechanically broken down into particles that are smaller than 2 millimetres in size or that pass the US #10 sieve

Dry soil

soil that is not liquid soil

Dump

a waste disposal site where waste is deposited without cover material being applied at regular intervals

Enhanced investigation project area

a project area used,

1. for an industrial use
2. as a garage
3. as a bulk liquid dispensing facility, including a gasoline outlet
4. for the operation of dry cleaning equipment

Excess soil

soil, crushed rock or soil mixed with rock or crushed rock, that has been excavated as part of a project and removed from the project area for the project

Environmentally sensitive area

means any of the following:

1. An area reserved or set apart as a provincial park or conservation reserve under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 12
2. An area of natural and scientific interest (life science or earth science) identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry as having provincial significance
3. A wetland or a coastal wetland identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry as having provincial significance, or a wetland or coastal wetland that is not yet evaluated to determine whether it is provincially significant
4. A significant woodland identified by a municipality in accordance with the Provincial Policy Statement under the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13
5. An area designated by a municipality in its official plan as environmentally significant, however expressed, including designations of areas as environmentally sensitive, as being of environmental concern and as being ecologically significant
6. An area designated as an escarpment natural area or an escarpment protection area by the Niagara Escarpment Plan under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. N.2
7. An area identified by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks as significant habitat of a threatened or endangered species
8. An area which is habitat of a species that is classified under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, 2007, S.O. 2007, c. 6 as a threatened or endangered species
9. A property within an area designated as a natural core area or natural linkage area within the area to which the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan under the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 31 applies
10. An area set apart as a wilderness area under the Wilderness Areas Act, R.S.O. c. W.8

Generic excess soil quality standards

the following standards as described or provided in Part II Excess Soil Quality Standards:

1. Table 1 “Full Depth Background Site Condition Standards”
2. Tables for the “small volume excess soil quality standards” and
3. Tables for the “volume independent excess soil quality standards”

Infrastructure

all physical structures, facilities and corridors relating to,

1. public highways
2. transit lines and railways
3. gas and oil pipelines
4. sewage collection systems and water distribution systems
5. stormwater management systems
6. electricity transmission and distribution systems
7. telecommunications lines and facilities, including broadcasting towers
8. bridges, interchanges, stations and other structures, above and below ground, that are required for the construction, operation or use of the items listed in clauses (a) to (g), or
9. rights of way required in respect of existing or proposed infrastructure listed in clauses (a) to (h)

Landfilling

the disposal of waste by deposit, under controlled conditions, on land or on land covered by water, and includes compaction of the waste into a cell and covering the waste with cover materials at regular intervals

Liquid soil

soil that has a slump of more than 150 millimetres using the Test Method for the Determination of “Liquid Waste” (slump test) set out in Schedule 9 to Regulation 347

Local waste transfer facility

has the same meaning as in Regulation 347; a site,

1. at which waste from field operations is received, bulked, temporarily stored and transferred
2. that is owned or controlled by the person who undertakes the field operations referred to in clause (a) or by a person on whose behalf those field operations are undertaken
3. at which no waste is received other than waste from field operations, and
4. that is used primarily for functions other than waste management

O. Reg. 153/04

Ontario Regulation 153/04 (Records of Site Condition – Part XV.1 of the Act) made under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA)

Potentially contaminating activity or “PCA”

is any activity listed in Table 2 to Schedule D of O. Reg. 153/04

Project

any project that involves the excavation of soil and includes,

1. any form of development or site alteration
2. the construction, reconstruction, erecting or placing of a building or structure of any kind
3. the establishment, replacement, alteration or extension of infrastructure, or
4. any removal of liquid soil or sediment from a surface water body

Project area

in respect of a project, a single property or adjoining properties on which the project is carried out. Also referred to as the “source site”

Project leader

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

Property uses

the following types of property uses have the same meaning as in O. Reg. 153/04:

1. Agricultural or other use
2. Commercial use
3. Community use
4. Industrial use
5. Institutional use
6. Parkland use; and
7. Residential use

Public body

means,

1. a municipality, local board or conservation authority
2. ministry, board, commission, agency or official of the Government of Ontario or the Government of Canada
3. a port authority under the Canada Marine Act, or
4. the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation under the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation Act, 2002

Qualified person

means,

1. subject to clause (b), a qualified person within the meaning of section 5 of Ontario Regulation 153/04, and
2. for the purposes of subsections 5 (2) to (5), 6 (4), paragraph 7 of subsection 19 (4), section 20 and section 13 of Schedule 1, a qualified person within the meaning of section 5 or 6 of Ontario Regulation 153/04

Rationale document

the Rationale Document for Development of Excess Soil Quality Standards as developed by the ministry

Registry

the registry described in section 50 of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016

Residential development soil depot

a soil bank storage site that is temporarily operated for the purpose of managing, on a temporary basis, excess soil that will ultimately be transported to a reuse site for final placement in respect of an undertaking at a reuse site

Retail landscaping soil depot

a soil bank storage site that is operated for the purpose of producing excess soil for landscaping or gardening products that is to be promptly packaged for retail sale to meet a realistic market demand, or to be offered for retail sale to meet a realistic market demand

Reuse site

a site at which excess soil is used for a beneficial purpose and does not include a waste disposal site

Rock

a naturally occurring aggregation of one or more naturally occurring minerals that is 2 millimetres or larger in size or that does not pass the US #10 sieve

Sampling location

an area of the property that does not have a radius larger than two metres, as defined in subsection 48 (4) of O. Reg. 153/04

Settlement areas

identified by municipalities, may be urban or rural, and include cities, towns, villages and hamlets. They include built up areas where development is concentrated and which have a mix of land uses, and lands which have been designated in an official plan for future development

Site-specific instrument

means one of the following instruments:

1. A permit that is issued under a by-law passed under section 142 of the Municipal Act, 2001 or section 105 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006
2. Provisions of a by-law passed under section 142 of the Municipal Act, 2001 or section 105 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006
3. A licence or permit issued under the Aggregate Resources Act
4. An approval under the Planning Act
5. A certificate of property use issued under section 168.6 of the EPA
6. Any other site-specific instrument under an Act of Ontario or Canada that may regulate the quality or quantity of soil that may be deposited for final placement at the reuse site

Small volume excess soil quality standards

the same as the Soil, Ground Water and Sediment Standards for coarse textured soil (Tables 2 to 9) set out in O. Reg. 153/04

Soil

unconsolidated naturally occurring mineral particles and other naturally occurring materials resulting from the natural breakdown of rock or organic matter by physical, chemical or biological processes that are smaller than 2 millimetres in size or that pass the US #10 sieve

Soil bank storage site

a waste disposal site, other than a Class 2 soil management site, at which excess soil is managed on a temporary basis and that is operated, by a person who is not the project leader for all of the projects from which the excess soil was excavated, for the primary purpose of storing the excess soil from one or more projects until the excess soil can be transported to a site for final placement or disposal

Soil processing site

a waste disposal site, other than a Class 2 soil management site or a soil bank storage site, at which excess soil is managed on a temporary basis, that is operated for the primary purpose of processing excess soil, including processing in order to reduce contaminants in the excess soil

Supervisee

an individual who is supervised by a qualified person

Topsoil

has the same meaning as in subsection 142 (1) of the Municipal Act, 2001

Undertaking

an activity at the reuse site which involves the beneficial reuse of excess soil

Vehicle

includes a trailer or other equipment attached to the vehicle

Volume independent excess soil quality standards

excess soil quality standards included in Part II of the document entitled “Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards” (Table 1 and Table 2.1 to 9.1, inclusive) and includes leachate screening levels (Appendix 2 of the Rules document)