Wayside permits allow the extraction of aggregate resources from private lands in designated areas for short-term public road construction projects.
A wayside permit can only be issued to a public authority (the Crown, a municipality, or a local board) or a person who has a contract with a public authority. The permit is issued for the duration of the contract, or 18 months, whichever occurs first. It specifies the volume of material required for the public project. The expiration date may be extended if the project has not been completed and additional material for the project is required from the same site.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has given the Ministry of Transportation the authority to issue and administer its own wayside permits for provincial highway projects.
The requirements for wayside permit applications are set out in Category 15 of the Aggregate Resources of Ontario Provincial Standards, including Site Plan Standards, Report Standards, Prescribed Conditions, and Notification and Consultation Standards.
Site Plans
All applications for a wayside permit must have a site plan that is prepared in accordance with Section 1.0 Site Plan Standards under the Provincial Standards. The site plan is the primary tool that controls the operation and rehabilitation of all pits and quarries. The permittee is legally bound to operate and rehabilitate the site according to the site plan.
In general, site plans must identify:
- existing features of the pit or quarry area, such as existing natural features and land use on and surrounding the site
- operation details, such as the sequence and direction of the operation, the depth of extraction, and the types of equipment to be used, and
- how the site will be rehabilitated.
Technical Reports
All wayside permit applications must include all reports outlined in Section 2.0 Report Standards under the Provincial Standards, including a Summary Statement and Technical Reports.
The Summary Statement must be signed by the author. It must provide information on the following items:
- the agricultural classification of the site
- the estimated cost of the aggregate compared to alternative sources
- alternative sources to supply the aggregate for the project
- the main haulage routes and truck traffic, and
- for pits and quarries that do not plan to extract below the water table, information that demonstrates that extraction will stay at least 1.5 m above the water table for a pit or 2.0 m above the water table for a quarry. This portion of the summary statement must be verified by a professional geoscientist.
All Technical Reports must be prepared by a person with appropriate training and/or expertise. Details regarding the content of Technical Reports are laid out in the Provincial Standards.
All wayside permit applications must include Natural Environment Reports and Cultural Heritage Resource Reports. Hydrogeological Reports are required if the extraction is below the water table.
Notification and Consultation
The notification and consultation process is outlined in the Provincial Standards. The process is proponent-driven, meaning that the applicant is responsible for carrying out all notification and consultation steps and resolving concerns.
As a part of the process, each applicant for a wayside permit must:
- provide written notice of the application to adjacent landowners
- circulate the application package to agencies identified in the Provincial Standards
- attempt to resolve all concerns during the application process
- at the completion of the notification and consultation period, submit a package to the Ministry of Natural Resources summarizing the notification and consultation activities.
Notification and consultation for wayside permits may be carried out up to 30 months in advance of submitting the application in order to facilitate the planning process for road construction or maintenance contracts.
Municipal Zoning
Municipal zoning for aggregate extraction is not required for wayside permits. However, a wayside permit cannot be issued on a site that has been zoned and developed for residential use or zoned as having an area of particular environmental sensitivity.
Posting on the Environmental Registry
Wayside permits are not required to be posted on Ontario’s Environmental Registry.
Issuance or Refusal
A decision by the Ministry of Natural Resources to issue or refuse to issue a wayside permit cannot be appealed.
Operational Standards
Once issued, all wayside permits are subject to the Operational Standards That Apply to Waysides as listed in the Provincial Standards, unless specifically indicated on the site plan.
Conditions
All new wayside permits are subject to the Prescribed Conditions under the Provincial Standards, as well as any additional conditions that may be required to address concerns raised during the application process.
Areas With Additional Restrictions for Wayside Permits
- Within the Niagara Escarpment Planning Area, wayside permits are only permitted in the Escarpment Rural Area designation, and must meet the Development Criteria 2.11 of the Niagara Escarpment Plan. A wayside permit may only be issued after a development permit is granted by the Niagara Escarpment Commission.
- No asphalt plants (temporary or permanent) are allowed within the Niagara Escarpment Planning Area, including those used for public authority contracts.
- Within the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, wayside permits may not be issued in areas designated as Core, but may be issued in all other areas with land use designations of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan.
- Within the Towns of Caledon and Halton Hills, there is a limitation on the number of wayside permits that can be issued on a site within a given time period.
Other Provincial and Federal Legislation Affecting Aggregate Extraction
The issuance of a wayside permit under the Aggregate Resources Act does not relieve the individual or company from meeting the requirements of other agencies and applicable legislation. Aggregate operations may also require additional information or approvals under other legislation, both during the application stage and throughout the life of the operation. Examples of other legislation include the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Ontario Water Resources Act and the Environmental Protection Act.
Fees
The fees for wayside permits under the Aggregate Resources Act are:
- Wayside permit: $400, or 11.5 cents/tonne, whichever is greater
- Rehabilitation security: 8 cents/tonne. This fee does not apply to Ministry of Transportation wayside permits.