Fill By-law

• Incorporate language from the recently updated Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks (MECP) On-Site and Excess Soil Management regulations (O. Reg 406/19), the Municipal Act, as well as common practices from surrounding municipalities.
• Changing the name of the By-law from “Fill” to “Site Alteration” which is more in line with surrounding municipalities and better describes the by-law, as it regulates the placement, removal, and movement of material (fill, topsoil, aggregate, etc.) on a property.
• Refinements and additions of definitions.
• Adjustment of the permit levels to allow the updated by-law to closely align with provincial regulations:
  • A Minor Permit from 0-200 cubic meters,
  • A Small Permit for 200-10,000 cubic meters,
  • A Large Permit for 10,000 cubic meters or more.
• The removal of landscaping and the low volume exemptions. The removed low volume exemptions are proposed to fall under the new free Minor Permit.
• The introduction of the free Minor Permit, which will allow residents interested in performing minor landscaping and/or grading works on their properties to do so through a simple and expedited process.
• The Minor Permit will be at no cost to the resident and will only require an online self-serve application to process the permit (similar to a Fire Burn Permit).
• Outline requirements specifically for the safe and proper importation of liquid fill, typically from hydro-excavation trucks, in order to ensure compliance with best management practices and provincial regulations.

The Town’s new Site Alteration By-law 2013-066 will prohibit and regulate any alteration to the grade of a property through the movement, removal or placement of topsoil, or fill. This by-law puts into place the technical and environmental requirements to control the importation of fill and any alterations to the grade of land within the Town.

The Town is proactive in requiring the adoption of regulatory agency and industry best management practices for the management of both dry and liquid soil focusing on environmental and human health protection. The Town’s proposed new By-law will require an operator to demonstrate through a robust Fill Management Plan that they can manage dry fill and wet fill in a safe manner in accordance with regulations and best management practices before the Town will contemplate issuing a Permit. All Permits will include conditions and the posting of financial securities. Oversight of Permits will be conducted by Town engineering and By-law staff with the assistance of the Town’s Qualified Person. Any failure to meet the Permit Conditions would result in revocation of the Permit and/or Orders.

The Town regulates the importation, placement, and/or movement of fill within the Town to ensure the quality of material will not negatively affect the environment and adjacent properties. This prevents negative impacts such as:

• Poor quality/contaminated fill
• Damage to environmentally sensitive areas
• Blocked or altered drainage patterns
• Damage to the public and private infrastructure

Fill is generated from projects within EG and throughout out the GTA. The sources could be:

• subdivision developments with excess topsoil
• deep excavations as part of condo construction
• tunnelling for transit

The no charge Minor Permit is designed to inform residents of restrictions on placing material on their property. These restrictions will avoid causing issues with their neighbours, Town, and/or conservation authority.

This will also inform the Town of their project, and in the event of a By-law complaint, the Town will have background on the project, which may avoid the need for inspection.

What are the exceptions to this by-law?

Exceptions to this by-law include, but are not limited to:

• If a Site Alteration permit has been authorized under a different Town approval or permit, such as a building permit or a swimming pool permit.
• Normal farm practices.
• Construction or reconstruction of any public road, highway, or underground service.

How long does it take to process my application?

There is typically a 10-business day turn around for applications to be processed. We thank you for your patience as staff work to get your permit approved in a timely manner.

How long is the permit valid for?

Site Alteration Permits are typically issued for 12 months.  Applicants have the option of extending their permit provided they advise the Town three months prior to the expiration date.

What happens if I begin work without obtaining the correct permit?

Residents who begin work without obtaining the correct permit may be asked to immediately cease site altering activity and/or remediate the effects until they obtain a permit.

Residents may also be issued a fine of up to $100,000, depending on the severity of the infraction.

In simple terms, “wet fill” or “wet soil” is the same as dry soil except that it is mixed with water (usually clean water) to form a slurry. Provincial Regulations use the term Liquid Soil to describe this slurry. The section below describes relevant definitions and regulations that apply to Liquid Soil.

What Provincial Regulations apply to wet fill (Liquid Soil)?

Ontario Regulation 406/19

There is no regulatory term for “wet fill” however there is a definition for Liquid Soil in in Ontario Regulation 406/19 Onsite and Excess Soil Management which is also used in Ontario Regulation 347 General Waste Management. It is stated as:

“liquid soil” means soil that has a slump of more than 150 millimetres using the Test Method for the Determination of “Liquid Waste” (slump test) set out in Schedule 9 to Regulation 347; (“sol liquide”)

This is the definition used in the draft Site Alteration and Fill By-law update.

Liquid Soil is a type of Excess Soil defined in Ontario Regulation 406/19 as:

“excess soil” means soil, or soil mixed with rock, that has been excavated as part of a project and removed from the project area for the project; (“sols de déblai”)

Based on Ontario Regulation 153/04 Liquid Excess Soil can be beneficially reused on sites within Town jurisdiction with specified controls and restrictions.

Ontario Regulation 347

Ontario Regulation 347 has the following definition of liquid waste:

“liquid waste” means waste that has a slump of more than 150 millimetres using the Test Method for the Determination of Liquid Waste (slump test) set out in Schedule 5.  O. Reg. 558/00, s. 2.

Transportation management and disposal of liquid waste must be in accordance with Ontario Regulation 347. All waste receiving and disposal sites are required to have an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) issued by the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks (MECP).

The Town’s current Site Alteration and Fill By-law excludes waste management in Section 4 recognizing that the Town has no jurisdiction:

 c)           The use, operation, establishment, alteration, enlargement or extension of a Waste management system or Waste disposal site within the meaning of Part V of the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E.19, as amended; and…

The Town By-law does not include any Town control or management of Liquid Waste for any purpose. It is noted that Excess Soil and Liquid Soil that is to be managed or are proposed to be deposited for beneficial reuse under the new proposed Site Alteration By-Law is not Waste disposal. 

What are the sources of Liquid Excess Soil?

Liquid Excess Soil (“wet fill”) that is defined by Ontario Regulation 406/19 and mentioned in the Town By-law is predominately water saturated excess soil derived from such sources as vac trucks, tunnel and micro tunnel boring slurry, and geothermal drilling slurry. Typically, it is transported in waterproof vessels such as vac trucks or tanker trucks.

Vac trucks are specialized vehicles that use vacuum suction to excavate soil usually from places where conventional extraction is not practical such as tight spaces and close to sensitive structures such as buried utility lines (sewer, water, gas, electrical etc). Vac trucks use high pressure clean water from an on-board tank to help break up the soil and enhance vacuuming. The vac truck water pressure system requires the use of clean water.

Similar equipment used to empty septic tanks and clean out storm sewers is regulated under Ontario Regulation 347 for waste management and is not applicable to this discussion.

The contents of the vac truck container are dry soil from the excavation system mixed with clean water used to help with the vacuuming.  If the dry soil is clean and the added water is clean the liquid soil would be clean.

What excess soil is generated from Geothermal Installation? 

Slurry derived from tunnelling or geothermal installation drilling is similar as clean water and sometimes environmentally acceptable additives are used to assist with the tunnel boring or drilling process. If the soil is clean and the water is clean the slurry will be clean.

Geothermal installation drilling involves small diameter shallow drilling for the installation of closed loop circulatory heat exchanger systems. All materials are environmentally safe. The generated excess dry and liquid soil, which is typically clean, is removed from the site for disposal.

Due to the saturated physical nature of liquid excess soil, it is managed with additional regulatory requirements and constraints than dry excess soil. It is simply dry excess soil with added clean water to make it a saturated flowable material. The chemical quality of the liquid soil reflects the chemical quality of the dry soil.

The Town’s proposed Site Alteration and Fill By-law update considers the beneficial reuse of fill as dry excess soil and also considers the management of dry excess soil with added clean water making it a liquid excess soil.

The Town, developers and businesses within the Town use hydro-vac and other equipment such as boring machines and tunnelling equipment that generates liquid soil from dry soil on a regular basis as part of their ongoing operations to efficiently excavate and complete work. The Town recognizes the need to manage and beneficially reuse this material. In some cases, it may involve the physical separation of the soil and water phases prior to disposal (dry soil and clean water) such as via a cyclone separator. In other cases, the placement of the liquid soil in a vessel or pond where it can settle and separate with each component managed separately.

Like the management of dry soil being used as fill, liquid soil management and final placement of fill requires control, environmental protection measures and oversight.

The proposed Town By-law and supporting Guidelines Manual outlines the requirements for any application for the beneficial reuse of dry excess soil as fill as well as liquid excess soil as fill.

In the case of any application for the beneficial reuse of excess liquid soil for filling, the By-law requires Public Consultation and Council approval.

There are different methods used across Ontario to manage Excess Liquid Soil. Some facilities are completely indoors and utilize centrifuges, presses, and other mechanical means to separate the soil and water. Other methods may include the addition of environmentally benign solidifying agents to create a dry soil. The dry soil would then be tested and shipped off to an appropriate receiving site.