Ontario excess soil terms, explained

The rules

O. Reg. 406/19

Ontario's On-Site and Excess Soil Management regulation, made under the Environmental Protection Act. It sets the rules for planning, moving, tracking and reusing excess soil.

Soil Rules

The Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards, a ministry document adopted by reference in O. Reg. 406/19. Part I sets the rules for managing soil. Part II sets the Excess Soil Quality Standards.

Excess Soil Quality Standards

The generic standards in Part II of the Soil Rules that decide where excess soil can be reused. Table 1, Table 2.1 and Table 3.1 are the ones you will hear most. The tables explained.

O. Reg. 153/04

Ontario's Records of Site Condition regulation. Its site condition standards, including Table 2 and Table 3, are where the trade's table names come from.

2027 landfill rule

From January 1, 2027, soil that meets Table 2.1 residential, parkland and institutional standards, or cleaner, may not be deposited at an Ontario landfill or dump, with limited exceptions. The rule in plain terms.

Soil quality

Excess soil

Soil, or soil and crushed rock, dug up on a project and taken off the project area. Dirt and fill from an excavation count as excess soil.

Table 1

The background standard: the cleanest of the generic tables, based on typical soil quality across Ontario.

Table 2.1

The full depth excess soil standard for sites with potable ground water, where ground water is a source of drinking water.

Table 3.1

The full depth excess soil standard for sites with non-potable ground water, where ground water is not a source of drinking water. The trade calls it Table 3. Table 3 soil explained.

Table 2 and Table 3

Site condition standards under O. Reg. 153/04, used for Records of Site Condition. For soil leaving a site, the matching standards are Table 2.1 and Table 3.1. Table 2 vs Table 3.

Potable and non-potable ground water

Potable ground water is a source of drinking water. Non-potable ground water is not, which is common in places on municipal water, such as Toronto.

RPI and ICC

The two property-use columns you will see most: residential, parkland and institutional (RPI), and industrial, commercial and community (ICC). Your qualified person decides which one your soil meets.

Impacted and contaminated soil

Trade terms, not categories in the rules. Impacted usually means soil between Table 2.1 and Table 3.1. Contaminated usually means soil above Table 3.1. Where the line sits.

Clean fill

A trade term, not a category in Ontario's excess soil rules. Ask which table the receiving site needs.

Salt-impacted soil

Soil with raised salt levels, often from road salt, measured as SAR and EC. Salt-impacted soil.

Liquid soil and slurry

Soil with so much water that it does not hold its shape. It has to pass a slump test as solid soil before it comes in. Call first.

Hazardous waste

Waste that meets the definition in Ontario's Regulation 347, for example because it fails a TCLP leachate test. Excess soil that is hazardous waste falls outside O. Reg. 406/19, and hazardous waste is refused at both of our locations.

People and paperwork

Project leader

The person or persons ultimately responsible for decisions on planning and carrying out a project. Usually the owner or developer, not the contractor.

Qualified person (QP)

A professional engineer or professional geoscientist who meets the requirements of O. Reg. 153/04. The QP assesses the soil and signs the reports.

Assessment of past uses

A QP's review of how the project area has been used, to find where soil may be impacted.

Sampling and analysis plan

The QP's plan for where and how the soil will be sampled and what it will be tested for.

Soil characterization report

The QP's report on what the samples showed. It tells you which table the soil meets.

Excess Soil Registry

The online public registry run by the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA), where project leaders and reuse site owners file the notices O. Reg. 406/19 requires.

Hauling record

The record that has to travel with every load of excess soil: where it came from, where it is going and how much is on the truck.

Scale ticket

The weigh slip for each load, with gross, tare and net weight. Keep it with your hauling records.

Tests

Accredited laboratory

A lab accredited for the tests it runs, such as through the Canadian Association for Laboratory Accreditation (CALA). Lab certificates should come from one.

SAR

Sodium adsorption ratio: sodium measured against calcium and magnesium in the soil. Used with EC to assess salt impact.

EC

Electrical conductivity: a measure of dissolved salts in the soil.

TCLP

Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure: a leachate test that shows whether waste is hazardous under Regulation 347. We ask for results showing the soil is non-hazardous.

Slump test

A test of how much a wet sample sags when its mould is lifted. It decides whether soil counts as solid or liquid.

Phase One and Phase Two ESA

Environmental site assessments. A Phase One ESA reviews a property's history. A Phase Two ESA samples soil and ground water where the Phase One found a concern.

Sites and approvals

Source site

The site where the soil is dug up. We review every source site before its first load.

Reuse site

A site where excess soil is placed for a beneficial use, such as grading or fill for construction. The soil has to meet the standard that applies there.

Transfer site

An approved site that receives excess soil before it moves on to reuse or disposal. Both of our locations are transfer sites.

ECA

Environmental Compliance Approval: the approval Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks issues to a site such as a waste transfer site. It sets what the site may receive and how it must operate.

MECP

Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Tipping fee

What a receiving site charges to accept a load, usually per tonne. What moves the price.

Construction and demolition waste

Concrete, asphalt, brick, drywall, wood, metal, paper, plastic and cardboard from building and demolition work. Our Etobicoke location takes it.

This page is a plain-language summary, not legal or technical advice. The regulation, the Soil Rules and each approval govern.