Re: Proposed New Excess Soil…

Re: Proposed New Excess Soil Reuse Regulation and Amendments to Existing Regulations

Dear Sirs and Madams: This letter has been prepared to provide the Ministry with comments on the proposed regulations and amendments that are intended to regulate excess soil (fill). The Township of Mulmur prepared a Fill By-law in 2015 to respond to the increased quantity of fill being brought into the Township. The Township currently has a by-law, passed under Section 142 of the Municipal Act. The Township also has the ability to use site plan control and subdivision controls under the Planning Act to regulate fill importation to some degree. According to the proposed regulations, "waste" will become soil once it is deposited at a site that is either governed by a bylaw or approved under a Planning Act application.

The Township needs to maintain the tools necessary to ensure that it can regulate fill and site alteration that is at a local scale and addresses local concerns. The Township needs to keep the authority to pass bylaws that regulate excess soil receiving sites, haul routes/road use and similar matters. The Township has a desire to provide bylaw requirements that are more restrictive than the proposed legislation.

The Township desires to maintain the authority to prohibit the importation of excess soil that exceeds the concentration of contaminants of those specified in Table 1 under the Ministry's Soil, Groundwater and Sediment Standards. The establishment of hazardous waste sites without the proper approvals, public meetings, monitoring and land use approvals should not be allowed.

The Township wants the authority to prohibit and regulate TESSS, soil banks and excess soil processing sites. These sites may involve contaminated soil and could contaminate lands or lands near receiving sites. Since the Township is ultimately responsible for lands within its boundaries, should a site become contaminated, the Township assumes responsibility and potential liability of owning a contaminated site

The Township needs to keep the authority to ensure that it does not receive contaminated soil or hazardous waste inadvertently through smaller projects/exemptions or through any loopholes between the legislation. The Township needs certainty of its ability to regulate the same subject matter as proposed under the draft legislation.

The Township is concerned that the proposed legislation may not address cumulative impacts from multiple small importation projects for receiving sites.

The Township requests that the ESMP include haul routes “to the Township’s satisfaction” or require the operator/hauler to enter into a road agreement if necessary. Rural municipalities receiving the bulk of excess fill should have the opportunity to comment of haul routes through and on their roads and an opportunity to assess impacts and cumulative impacts of hauling activities. The Township should also have the opportunity to collect a levee for road use.

The proposed legislation offers 28 days to correct inaccuracies with ESMP on the Environmental Site Registry. The Township believes that inaccuracies should be corrected within 24 hours of the responsible authority being made aware of an inaccuracy.

The Township’s concern with the proposed legislation, is that it appears to put more emphasis on the origin, than on the municipality that has the receiving site. Additional information should be included in Schedule “A”, being the mandatory components of an ESMP. This section should be enhanced to include more information on traffic, haul routes, site accessibility, signage, safety, reoccurring site details, contours, buffering, conservation/natural heritage feature identification, noise attenuation, monitoring, aquifer vulnerability, well locations and any other matters to address local issues. Schedule “A” should include review of the ESMP by the Township, Conservation Authority and Niagara Escarpment, to ensure that development does not require any additional permits/approvals. Alternatively, certain natural features should be prohibited from receiving fill.

The regulation should include a responsibility to provide a copy of the final ESMP to the Township for record keeping.

The Township supports the proposed tracking and cross-jurisdictional approach. The Township appreciates the proposed draft and the movement towards greater over-sight on fill activities. Thank you for the opportunity to comments on the draft regulations.

[Original Comment ID: 209767]