Rehabilitating Aggregate Sites

The Aggregate Resources Act requires every licensee and permittee in the Province of Ontario to perform progressive and final rehabilitation on the site in accordance with the act, the regulations, the site plan and the conditions of the licence/permit, to the satisfaction of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Rehabilitation is the treatment of land from which aggregate has been excavated so that the use or condition of the land:

• is restored to its former use or condition, or
• is changed to another use or condition that is or will be compatible with the use of adjacent land.
   

Animation of Pit 16 Scugog Township site undergoing rehabilitation
Photos courtesy of Lafarge Canada Inc

Progressive rehabilitation means to rehabilitate parts of the pit or quarry one after another, as shown on the site plan, within a reasonable period of time, while aggregate is being excavated. With good planning, the extraction of aggregate proceeds in a logical sequence so that depleted areas can be rehabilitated while extraction continues in other areas of the pit or quarry. Planned stripping and replacement of topsoil, subsoil and overburden materials allow the licensee or permittee to establish vegetation in as much area as possible, and a start can be made towards developing the site for a particular future use.

The requirement to progressively rehabilitate is one of the most important provisions of the Aggregate Resources Act. It applies to licences, wayside permits and aggregate permits.

Progressive Rehabilitation Orders

The site plans for aggregate operations outline the specific requirements for rehabilitation. The site plan is also the primary means of regulating rehabilitation and ensuring that the disturbance of the site is kept to a minimum. The licensee or permittee is legally bound to operate and rehabilitate the site in accordance with the site plan.

Where a licensee or permittee has not performed adequate progressive or final rehabilitation in accordance with the site plan, the ministry may issue a Rehabilitation Order requiring the licensee or permittee to perform any necessary rehabilitation work within a specified time period.
 

Final rehabilitation is the rehabilitation that is performed after the excavation of aggregate and the progressive rehabilitation have been completed. As set out in the site plan, during final rehabilitation all equipment, stockpiles and buildings (in most cases) will be removed, and additional vegetation, such as trees, may be established on the areas that have already been progressively rehabilitated.