Hi Sanjay, Given that a 17…

Hi Sanjay,

Given that a 17 days extension for comments has been granted by the Ministry, the City of Oshawa would like to add some more comments below to our response submitted to you on May 29, 2019 for your consideration:

Subsection 1(1), Page 4

Under the definition of “reuse site”, it would be helpful in the proposed Regulation document if the phrase “a beneficial purpose” be clearly defined.

If a reuse site is established strictly for a business accepting excess soil deposits for the purpose of remuneration, we believe that under the current proposed Regulation, the site may have the potential to obtain approval easily without undertaking any Excess Soil Management activities as originally thought it would be in the proposed Regulation.

The following is our thought process about how one could circumvent the Regulation’s requirements to achieve his or her goal:

1. Excess Soil is not designated as waste – Subsection 3(1).
2. The designation would be exempted anyway under Subsection 4(1).
3. Excess Soil Management actions by the Project Leader would be exempted under Schedule 1 if the amount of the removed fill is kept less than 2000 m3.
4. The requirements of Section 13 would not be required if the quantity of the Excess soil is kept not exceeding 10,000 cubic metres (ie. 1,000 truckloads) per dumping from a source site.

In the above example, we would question whether or not the placement of Excess soil to a reuse site like the one described above would fit the bill of treating the excess soil as a resource, which is the premises of the proposed Regulation.

In addition to the above, the example also reveals the fact that it is possible for one to circumvent the responsibility of the Project Leaders on source sites, which is again one of the key principles identified in the Excess Soil Management Policy Framework.

Paragraph 2, Subsection 7(3), Page 12

Typo in our previous comment – Replace “less than” by “more than” instead. To us, linking the soil contamination level to the land uses of the lands may not be completely justifiable as the soil may be contaminated by a spill inadvertently occurred in the past.

Miscellaneous

• Given that Excess Soil Management Policy Framework (which is the basis for the proposed Excess Fill Regulation) calls for enhancing opportunities for beneficial reuse of excess soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the movement of excess soil, we would appreciate it if there are information/rules in the Regulation to guide Municipalities where they want to impose restriction on fill coming from outside of their respective jurisdictions. Will it be allowed under the new Regulation?
• Given that the large fill activities often time would occur in the rural areas and development of the lands involved may not be as advanced as one would expect to be, it would be desirable if there is something in the Regulation to speak to the requirement of Public Consultation by the owners/operators of potential receiving sites as recommended in the Excess Soil Management Policy Framework.

We trust that you would also find our additional comments enlightening and helpful. Please feel free to advise if you need more clarifications from us on any points mentioned above.

Thanks,

Patrick Lee, Manager, Water Resources Services | City of Oshawa
905-436-3311 ext. 2372 | 1-800-667-4292
PLee@oshawa.ca