On behalf of Ontario’s more…

On behalf of Ontario’s more than 3,000 environment and cleantech firms, the Ontario Environment Industry Association (ONEIA) is pleased to provide our comments on Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) #013-5000: Excess soil regulatory proposal and amendments to Record of Site Condition (Brownfields) Regulation.

Ontario is home to Canada’s largest group of environment and cleantech companies. The most recent statistics show that Ontario’s environment sector employs more than 65,000 people across a range of sub-sectors. This includes firms working in such diverse areas as water/wastewater/stormwater treatment and management, materials collection and transfer, resource recovery, organics processing, composting, recycling solutions, alternative energy systems, environmental consulting, brownfield remediation – to name just a few. These companies contribute more than $8-billion to the provincial economy, with approximately $1-billion of this amount coming from export earnings.

Members of ONEIA are committed to engaging with governments to develop policies and regulations that are consistent with our principles of sound science, sound environment and a sound economy. To that end, we convened working groups of member companies drawn from across the environment and cleantech sector to review the regulatory proposal and amendments.

In assessing the proposal, ONEIA has asked members of our Brownfields advocacy sub-committee and the Excess Soils working group, as well as the Resource Recovery advocacy sub-committee (includes landfill owners and operators), to convene member companies and gather their comments. Their feedback forms the basis of this response and each of these sub-committees is ready and willing to work more closely with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) on the specific aspects of this response to ERO #013-5000.

This response builds upon two previous submissions by ONEIA members: a) our comments provided in June 2018 for the previously-proposed Excess Soil Regulatory package; and, b) the Brownfield and Excess Soil specific comments provided in response to the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan earlier this year.

GENERAL COMMENTS
ONEIA members agree with the burden relief that is currently proposed with the amendments to the Record of Site Condition (Brownfields) Regulation. Further ONEIA is also in agreement with the proposed amendments to Ontario Regulation 347 respecting waste management for the definition of excess soil and liquid soil and processing. Although the subject of a separate ERO posting (#019-0023), ONEIA agrees with the concept of holding polluters accountable by enhancing the enforcement tools available to the MECP.

However, the impact statement offered by the MECP has identified that the local reuse of soil will create many benefits. From our review of the regulatory package, we question whether these measures will sufficiently promote and encourage local reuse.

Additional general comments include:

Supply and Demand Imbalance and Pit/Quarry Rehabilitation: ONEIA still believes that the mass balance of excess soils generated will significantly favour supply rather than demand, and this could result in a large volume of soil without sufficient beneficial reuse opportunity. We would suggest that one remedy for this could see the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) work closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) to find ways to align policies and increase the opportunity for excess soil to be used for pit and quarry rehabilitation. The current standards require the use of virgin soil (i.e., Table 1) in Aggregate Resource facility rehabilitation. There is a significant opportunity to allow for more excess soil to be utilized for rehabilitation purposes, especially for non-geotechnically suitable soils.

Landfill Disposal: Although ONEIA generally agrees with the intent of banning the disposal of excess soil at landfills, this should be contingent on clarifying the beneficial reuse of excess soils at landfill operations. There are daily cover and construction considerations where excess soil can be beneficially reused at landfills (i.e. roads, liners, leachate systems, gas collection systems and cap rehabilitation/construction) that could be added to the cover exemption for landfills. There is a significant opportunity to allow for more excess soil to be utilized for rehabilitation purposes, especially for non-geotechnically suitable soils. Some of our members have rightly raised the issue of the precedent that a landfill ban could set, not just for soils, but for other materials.

Soil Banks: Recent regulatory proposals for Excess Soils Management have not reflected the ongoing discussion around the concept of Soil Banks. ONEIA members recommend that the Ministry consider the operation of soil banks at existing operating aggregate pits and quarries. Through two-way loads, this could achieve GHG reductions, allay dust and noise concerns and also address traffic and road wear-and-tear. Further, existing equipment and resources could be utilized for recovering valuable portions of excess soil for beneficial reuse at prospective Soil Banks. Excess soil not deemed geotechnically suitable for immediate reuse could be stockpiled and managed for eventual rehabilitation. This is anticipated to require some alignment with the Aggregate Resources Act and with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) as identified above.

Reliance on Qualified Persons (QPs): As identified previously by ONEIA in our response to the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan, the proposed regulatory package relies heavily on Ontario’s Qualified Persons, necessitating a QP registry process that will allow for identification, tracking and communications, as well as possible enforcement. Further, mandatory training and education programs need to be established for QPs to achieve and maintain their designation, but more importantly, to ensure a high and standardized level of practice in excess soils management (in addition to site assessment and remediation). The program could be administered through an existing provincial body in partnership with the two base Regulators of QPs (PEO/OSPE and APGO). Registration of QPs would provide a streamlined process for any enforcement and maintenance of a registry database. Modest registration and annual fees for the QPs would cover the costs of administering and maintaining the QP registration program. Further, “pay-for-use” certification and training programs would assist in cost-recovery.

Training and Outreach: The original timeline in the 2018 proposal had a two-year window in which many aspects of the proposed regulations would become effective. However, the 2019 version presents a shorter timeline of approximately 18 months. As such, training and outreach will become key for municipalities, developers and those involved in the construction, earth-moving and trucking industries. MECP-developed training programs with approved delivery should become paramount given the shortened timeline and now potential new MECP enforcement tools for non-compliance.

RESPONDING IN DETAIL
This overview offers the general feedback of these companies to the regulatory package and its elements. The table contained in Appendix A of this submission (and attached to the electronic filing as a PDF) summarizes our detailed observations tied to sections of the proposed regulatory package and the responses offered by the ONEIA member companies. ONEIA looks forward to following up in detail with respect to specific sections as the Province moves towards enacting these proposed changes.

SUMMARY
ONEIA commends the MECP Policy and Operations teams for their extensive efforts in bringing these files to this point. We continue to look forward to working with the Province to implement this Regulation and amendments and to participate in consultations on the priorities and next steps. ONEIA member companies and their representatives are willing to participate in advisory panels and assist in the outreach. ONEIA understands that time is of the essence and we will collaborate with the Province in an expeditious manner with respect to advancements of actions identified within the proposed Excess Soil Regulations and amendments to the Record of Site Condition (Brownfields) Regulation.

We appreciate the ability to provide our comments and welcome any additional opportunities to discuss our ideas further.