For ease of reference, the following definitions are provided from Ontario Regulation 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 (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 identification of one or more potentially contaminating activities
Aggregate reuse depot
a Class 1 soil management site that is operated for the purpose of producing recycled engineered aggregate to meet a realistic market demand
Asphalt-impacted excess soil
excess soil that exceeds one or more standards set out in the Excess Soil Standards for parameters specified in the Excess Soil Standards, solely because of the discharge of a contaminant from asphalt. For the purposes of the definition in the regulation, the specified parameters are those listed in paragraph 3 of subsection 1(10.1) of Section A of Part II of the Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards, namely petroleum hydrocarbons F3 and F4, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
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
  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
Beneficial Reuse Assessment Tool
the data file entitled “Beneficial Reuse Assessment Tool” and dated November 19, 2019, as amended from time to time, that is maintained by the Ministry and is available on a website of the Government of Ontario
Building
the same meaning as in the Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 23
Class 1 soil management site
a waste disposal site, other than a Class 2 soil management site or local waste transfer facility, at which excess soil is processed, stored or otherwise managed on a temporary basis
Class 2 soil management site
a waste disposal site at which excess soil is processed, stored or otherwise managed on a temporary basis and that is:
  1. located on a property or adjoining properties owned or controlled by a public body or by the project leader for the project or projects from which the excess soil was excavated
  2. operated by or on behalf of 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 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
Depot
an aggregate reuse depot, a landscaping soil depot, or a residential development soil depot
Dry excess soil
excess soil that is dry soil
Dry soil
soil, crushed rock or soil mixed with rock or crushed rock, where it is not liquid soil
Dump
a waste disposal site where waste is deposited without cover material being applied at regular intervals
Engineered aggregate
a material that:
  1. is composed primarily of aggregate
  2. at the time when it is used for a purpose such as constructing a road or other infrastructure or a building, it meets an engineering standard developed by, or adopted by, a public body for that purpose
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
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
Excavated engineered aggregate
materials, composed primarily of excess soil, that were used as engineered aggregate, that have been excavated and removed from a project area and that are to be reused as part of recycled engineered aggregate
Excavation project area
in respect of specified excess soil, the project area from which the specified excess soil was excavated
Excess Soil Standards
the document entitled "Part II: Excess Soil Quality Standards”, published by the Ministry and dated October 10 2025, available on a website of the Government of Ontario as Part II of the document entitled “Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards"
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
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"
  3. Tables for the "volume independent excess soil quality standards"
Infrastructure
all physical structures, facilities and corridors relating to :
  1. highways within the meaning of the Highway Traffic Act
  2. transit lines and railways
  3. gas and oil pipelines
  4. sewage collection systems and water distribution systems
  5. drainage works within the meaning of the Drainage Act
  6. stormwater management systems
  7. electricity transmission and distribution systems
  8. telecommunications lines and facilities, including broadcasting towers
  9. 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
  10. rights of way required in respect of existing or proposed infrastructure listed in clauses (a) to (h)
Infrastructure project
a project that primarily involves the establishment, replacement, alteration, maintenance or extension of infrastructure
Infrastructure undertaking
the reuse of excess soil at a reuse site that primarily involves the establishment, replacement, alteration, maintenance or extension of infrastructure
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
Landscaping soil depot
a Class 1 soil management site that is operated for the purpose of producing landscaping or gardening products to meet a realistic market demand
Liquid excess soil
excess soil that is liquid soil
Liquid soil
soil, crushed rock or soil mixed with rock or crushed rock, where it has a slump of more than 150 millimetres using the Test Method for the Determination of "Liquid Waste"
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
  4. that is used primarily for functions other than waste management
Ontario Regulation 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 PCA
is any activity listed in Table 2 to Schedule D of Ontario Regulation 153/04. Note: For the purposes of the regulation and the Soil Rules, item 30 in Table 2 of Schedule D to Ontario Regulation 153/04 (Importation of Fill Material of Unknown Quality) does not include the circumstance where engineered aggregate has been used in respect of infrastructure at a project area and will become excavated engineered aggregate that will be reused as recycled engineered aggregate.
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. an infrastructure project
  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 Ontario Regulation 153/04:
  1. Agricultural or other use
  2. Commercial use
  3. Community use
  4. Industrial use
  5. Institutional use
  6. Parkland use
  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
  4. the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation under the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation Act, 2002
  5. a corporation established under sections 9, 10 and 11 of the Municipal Act, 2001 in accordance with section 203 of that Act or under sections 7 and 8 of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 in accordance with sections 148 and 154 of that Act
Qualified person
means:
  1. subject to clause (b), a qualified person within the meaning of section 5 of Ontario Regulation 153/04
  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
Recycled engineered aggregate
engineered aggregate that contains excavated engineered aggregate
Registry
the registry described in section 50 of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016
Residential development soil depot
a Class 1 soil management site that is operated for the purpose of managing excess soil that will ultimately be transported to a reuse site for final placement in respect of an undertaking at the 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
Salt-impacted excess soil
excess soil that exceeds one or more standards set out in the Excess Soil Standards solely because a substance was applied, for the safety of vehicular or pedestrian traffic under conditions of snow or ice or both, to the surface of all or part of a project area from which the excess soil was excavated
Sampling location
an area of the property that does not have a radius larger than two metres, as defined in subsection 48 (4) of Ontario Regulation 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 Ontario Regulation 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
Supervisee
an individual who is supervised by a qualified person
Topsoil
  1. those horizons in a soil profile, commonly known as the "O" and the "A" horizons, containing organic material
  2. for the purposes of this definition, if soil has been disturbed or excavated such that the horizons in the soil profile are no longer evident, it is considered to be topsoil if it consists of
    1. solely a mixture of soil and organic material
    2. at least as much organic material as would be found in the "O" and the "A" horizons in a typical soil profile of topsoil that has not been disturbed or excavated
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)