Ministry of the Environment,…

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP)
Land Use Policy (Environment and Climate Change)
40 St Clair Avenue West, Foster Building, Floor 10
Toronto, ON M4V1M2

RE: ERO posting #019-7636: Implementation Pause of Excess Soil Requirements in Effect January 1, 2022

To whom it may concern:

We are in agreement with the MECP’s decision to remove requirements for waste Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECAs) for small liquid soil sites (class 1 sites). There are many rural communities without access to any nearby licensed facilities putting them in a non-compliance situation. That being said, we would suggest the following ideas to be incorporated into the amendments:

1. If the intent is for there to eventually be class 1 facilities built throughout the province, then we recommend having a sunset to this exemption; perhaps 2 to 5 years. This would give the private sector time to develop and apply for licensed facilities in underserviced area. If the amendment stands as is, there will be a reverse incentive away from building properly licensed facilities.

2. 250 cubic meters of liquid soils is a large quantity. A typical vac truck will be less than 10 cubic meters. If sites are allowed a large daily volume like this, they will quickly become overwhelmed with mud. We recommend limiting daily incoming volumes to 2-5 loads (or 20-50 cubic meters).

3. Many hydro-vac trucks are used to assist in directional drill services. These trucks will contain drill mud along with liquid soil. The drill mud is contaminated with Bentonite, which while not environmentally detrimental, can cause geo-technical issues for ground water and aquafers. We recommend having language in the amendment prohibiting the unlicensed disposal of these types of materials.

4. Enforcement will essential to ensure that this leniency does not become abused. In Alberta for example, enforcement is so strong that it is not uncommon for hydro-vac trucks to drive 2-3 hours to dump at a properly licensed facility. This had led to a very competitive market for liquid soil processing facilities in that province.

Thank you for the opportunity to makes comments on this matter.