Ontario guidelines raising the cost of excavated soil disposal

Provincial guidelines are contributing to increased costs for disposing of excavated soil from infrastructure projects, suggests a new study from the Residential and Civil Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO).

Taxpayers and consumers could pay as much as 15% more in some cases for roads, sewers, water systems, public transit and other infrastructure, notes the RCCAO, composed of management and labour groups in the construction industry.

Millions of cubic metres of soil will need to be trucked from construction projects to disposal sites over the next decade or two, the RCCAO notes in a statement. Some municipalities are now restricting or banning the importation of soils from outside their jurisdictions because of uncertainties around applying Ontario’s regulations governing soil quality and placement.

Ontario’s rules were meant to encourage the clean-up of Brownfields and other contaminated sites, but they are being misapplied to handling of non-contaminated excess construction soils, the group contends.

“Even though most of these excavated [construction] soils are relatively clean, municipalities and private companies are choosing to discontinue accepting soils due to bylaw restrictions or other regulatory liability concerns,” the RCCAO notes.

“Construction firms are paying millions of dollars each year to move relatively clean soil from construction sites to remote placement sites,” notes the study, prepared by consultant and environmental lawyer Frank Zechner. “These ever-increasing costs get reflected in contractors’ prices to owners, which are then passed on to taxpayers/consumers,” Zechner adds.

“We hope we can work with the government in developing clear, consistent, pragmatic rules for managing excavated soils in Ontario,” says Andy Manahan, the RCCAO’s executive director.