Enabling greater beneficial reuse of excess soil

In addition to this decision, the government is seeking public feedback on proposed legislative and regulatory changes under the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 to streamline the construction of new homes and infrastructure (e.g., water, wastewater, roads, transit), reduce gridlock, enhance community safety, and improve landlord-tenant frameworks. A link to the bill is provided below.

Ontario is committed to reducing regulatory burdens to help accelerate the development of housing, highways and other critical infrastructure. In response to feedback from soil management companies, municipalities and others in the construction sector, Ontario is updating the Excess Soil Regulation and Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards (Soil Rules) to increase soil management flexibility, provide clarity to reduce costs, and enable greater beneficial reuse of excess soil, especially in relation to infrastructure. This is in addition to the regulatory amendment previously made to delay the in-effect date of a provision preventing the landfilling of cleaner soil by two years and to clarify the exemptions to this provision.

Summary of amendments

Newly implemented decisions (October 2025):

1) Exempt aggregate reuse depots from a requirement for a waste environmental compliance approval (ECA), subject to rules:

• Requirements for waste ECAs for low-risk third-party storage and processing of excavated aggregate (containing excess soil) and other related wastes at aggregate reuse depots have now been removed, with regulatory rules to be followed instead.
• Provisions in the regulation specify which depots are exempt from the requirement for a waste ECA (e.g., based on the type and quantity of material managed at the depot, among other conditions), and key regulatory rules outline required procedures and operational requirements.
• Notifications to the ministry and the municipality are required prior to these depots being established.
• The regulation also includes provisions to address the operation of aggregate reuse depots within pits or quarries governed by a permit or licence under the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA), to avoid potential duplication by deferring to the ARA or instruments under the ARA for matters addressed by those instruments.

Due to stakeholder concerns related to oversight and other matters, the ministry has decided to not move ahead with a proposal to exempt small liquid soil depots from the requirement for a waste ECA (see ‘Effects of consultation’ section below for more details).

2) Enhanced reuse opportunities for recycled engineered aggregate and stormwater management pond sediment

• For asphalt-impacted excess soil, the excess soil standards for specified parameters associated with asphalt contamination are deemed to be met if certain criteria are satisfied, including that it is finally placed in accordance with the rules and that it is unlikely that potentially contaminating activities have contributed to the concentrations of those parameters.
• Generally, asphalt-impacted excess soil must be finally placed in any area that will be covered by asphalt pavement, such as a road and parking lot. If the asphalt-impacted excess soil is sediment from a stormwater management pond, it may also be placed anywhere in a road right-of-way adjacent to an asphalt road, including in landscaping and medians within or beside a road.
• For excess soil and recycled engineered aggregate from an infrastructure project, the excess soil standards are deemed to be met for parameters with natural exceedances or concentrations that are within the range of naturally occurring concentrations in the local area where the soil or aggregate was excavated, if certain criteria are satisfied. Rules are provided on how to determine whether exceedances of the standards may be attributed to naturally occurring exceedances and on the final placement of such soil and aggregate.

3) Reuse between infrastructure project areas and reuse sites that are infrastructure undertakings

• Where soil is managed between project areas and reuse sites that are both infrastructure of the same type (e.g., road-to-road) and where the project leader and reuse site owner or operator is the same person or both entities are public bodies, that excess soil would not be designated a waste when it is finally placed for reuse, as long as certain conditions are satisfied.
• The conditions include determining that the excess soil that will be reused is not likely to be contaminated. The Soil Rules also specify which infrastructure projects are considered a similar type.

4) Reduced reuse planning requirements for excess soil moved between infrastructure projects

• An exemption from most of the reuse planning requirements has been provided if the soil is being moved from an infrastructure project area to an infrastructure reuse site, when the project areas and reuse sites are owned by different project leaders and reuse site operators or when the reuse site is not owned or operated by a public body.
• The project leader would be exempt from all the reuse planning requirements with respect to the project area (i.e., assessment of past uses, sampling and analysis, destination assessment report, tracking system) except filing a notice in the Excess Soil Registry, which would continue to be required if triggered.

5) Allowing in-situ sampling for stormwater management pond sediment

• Where sampling and analysis is required, stormwater management pond sediment may now be collected in-situ and then tested, instead of being required to do stockpile sampling, reducing time and cost associated with characterization. Stockpile sampling remains an option.
• In-situ sampling frequencies and minimum parameters are set out in the Soil Rules.

6) Regional mapping of naturally occurring local background concentrations

• With regard to the proposal for an approach to recognize mapping for areas with naturally occurring exceedances of the excess soil standards, MECP is planning to develop regional background standards that may be used as a basis to enable greater reuse of excess soil, regionally. Further information on this effort will be brought forward as it develops.

7) Clarifications, Corrections, Consequential Amendments

Other clarifications, corrections, consequential amendments and minor amendments have been made, including:

• Clarifications that make it easier to reuse excess soil as part of a single larger planned initiative that is composed of multiple smaller or discrete project areas with the same project leader that will be adjoining when the initiative is completed, as may be the case for highway or transit projects. For example, excess soil would not be designated as waste if it is excavated from and reused at those discrete project areas, without having to meet quality standards, subject to certain conditions.
• Clarification that soil that is temporarily removed from and is then returned to the project area where it was excavated from is not waste upon its return to the project area, subject to certain conditions.
• Clarification of requirements that apply when substances are added to soil to facilitate excavation for tunneling projects, including sampling.
• Allowing minimum sampling frequencies in the Soil Rules to be reduced at the discretion of a qualified person for parameters that are not contaminants of potential concern, provided that a rationale is documented to justify the lower sampling frequency, and that some sampling is still conducted for these parameters.
• Clarifying that when excess soil is placed on the bed of a water body at a reuse site, it does not need to meet applicable excess soil quality standards in order for the soil to not be designated as waste, though other aspects of the regulation apply. Care must still be taken to not cause an adverse effect.
• Clarifying that for the purposes of the restriction on the landfilling of cleaner excess soil, such excess soil may still be brought to a landfill or dump if, due to the physicochemical characteristics of the excess soil, the excess soil is not suitable for reuse as structural fill at a potential reuse site.
• Removing an unnecessary cross-reference in Regulation 347 to the excess soil regulation with respect to excess soil that is already not designated as waste.

Implementation and Guidance

The amended landfilling restriction provision, with the clarified exceptions, will come into effect on January 1, 2027. All of the other amendments came into effect upon filing in October 2025.

Additional materials are anticipated to be provided in the near future. Links to other guidance can be found on Ontario’s Handling Excess Soil website.

For further assistance understanding the Excess Soil Regulation, you can contact your local MECP district office or e-mail mecp.landpolicy@ontario.ca.

Previously posted decision from December 2024

Ontario is making it easier and safer for industry to reuse leftover soil from housing and infrastructure sites, while working to stop the illegal dumping of potentially contaminated soil.

Having taken feedback into consideration, from soil management companies, municipalities, the construction sector and others, Ontario is updating the Excess Soil Regulation to change the in-effect date of a provision preventing the landfilling of cleaner soil by two years and to clarify the exemptions to this provision.

These changes will provide more time for industry to learn about and prepare for this provision, and respond to concerns that current lack of awareness could result in project delays and illegal soil dumping.

More specifically, Ontario has made the following amendments to O. Reg. 406/19 - On-Site and Excess Soil Management (Excess Soil Regulation):

1. The in-effect date of the restriction on landfilling excess soil that meets Table 2.1 residential, parkland and institutional (RPI) standards, is moved out by two years, from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2027. This change responds to concerns about a lack of awareness in the industry about the restriction and allows more time to understand and apply it.
2. The existing exemptions from the restriction have been revised to make it clear when excess soil meeting Table 2.1 RPI standards may still be taken to a landfill. The amendment clarifies that this exemption applies if a qualified person determines that the excess soil is inappropriate for reuse because it:
   • contains other chemicals for which there are no applicable excess soil quality standards and that may result in an adverse impact if finally placed;
   • contains invasive species that should not be relocated; or
   • is geotechnically unstable and cannot be used at a reuse site for structural purposes and after reasonable efforts were made, another reuse site where the soil could be used for another beneficial purpose was not identified

Clarifications have also been made to the type of information a qualified person would need to provide in a declaration to the landfill owner or operator, indicating why the excess soil should be landfilled.

While the in-effect date of the landfilling restriction has been moved out, Ontario remains committed to enacting this provision to reduce impacts on landfilling space from cleaner soil, and to achieve greater reuse of soil.

We are also committed to ensuring greater beneficial reuse of soil and to this end we continue to consider the other proposals posted as part of ERO 019-9196. We are currently reviewing all input received.

Implementation and Guidance

These amendments to revoke the landfilling restriction provision that would have come into effect on January 1, 2025 came into effect upon filing, and the amended landfilling restriction provision will come into effect on January 1, 2027, with the clarified exemptions.

The ministry will provide education and guidance to municipalities, landfill operators, and other soil management businesses, to ensure greater awareness and understanding of the restriction and exemptions.

Links to guidance to help understand these as well as other requirements can be found on Ontario’s Handling Excess Soil website.

For further assistance understanding the Excess Soil Regulation, you can contact your local MECP district office or e-mail mecp.landpolicy@ontario.ca.