Pit and Quarry Operations

Compliance

Every licensee and permittee is responsible for the day-to-day monitoring of their site to ensure that they are in compliance with the requirements of the Aggregate Resources Act, the regulations, the Aggregate Resources of Ontario Provincial Standards, the site plans and the conditions of their licence or permit.

Site Plan

The site plan is the primary tool that controls the operation and rehabilitation of all pits and quarries. The licensee or permittee is legally bound to operate and rehabilitate their site in accordance with the site plan.

The site plan includes information on:

• how the extraction of aggregate will occur on the site (e.g. which parts of the licence or permit area will be extracted first, how extraction will move across the site, how deep the extraction will be, what types of equipment will be used, what the hours of operation will be, etc.);
• how progressive rehabilitation will be carried out;
• what the final rehabilitation of the site will involve; and
• any required monitoring programs that were identified during the application process. 

Operational Standards

The Aggregate Resources of Ontario Provincial Standards (Provincial Standards) contains a set of Operational Standards for licences, wayside permits and aggregate permits. These Operational Standards identify day-to-day operational requirements that apply to all pits and quarries unless specifically noted on the site plan.

There are three different sets of Operational Standards, one for licences, one for wayside permits and one for aggregate permits. Some examples of Operational Standards are:

• fencing and gate requirements;
• the requirement to strip all topsoil before extraction and keep all topsoil that was stripped on the site for future rehabilitation;
• the minimum extraction setback distances (areas where extraction is not permitted) from highways, the boundary of the site, residential land and water bodies; and
• the requirement to remove all scrap on an ongoing basis.

The provisions of a site plan may vary from the Operational Standards (e.g. minimum setback requirements, fencing). Examples of where the site plan may specifically note a variation from the Operational Standards are:

• Where the extraction is below water and the final rehabilitation of the site includes a pond, the site plan may allow for the removal of some topsoil because it will not be required in the pond area; and
• Where the boundary of the site is next to another licenced or permitted property, the extraction setback on the boundary may be varied to allow extraction through the common property boundary so that the final rehabilitation of the two sites can be blended together.

Licence or Permit Conditions

The licensee or permittee must also ensure that they are following all of the conditions attached to their licence or permit during the operation of their pit or quarry.

All licences and permits issued after June 27, 1997 have ‘Prescribed Conditions’ attached and these conditions cannot be changed or removed by MNR or the Ontario Municipal Board. These conditions are found in the Provincial Standards, under each category of application (i.e. Prescribed Conditions that Apply to Category 1 Licences). The conditions cover topics such as dust suppression, fuel storage and spills contingency plans, and the requirement to obtain other approvals under the Ontario Water Resources Act (e.g. Permit to Take Water) if required.

Annual Compliance Reporting

Every licensee and permittee in the Province of Ontario is required to complete a Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) once each year, between May 1st and September 15th. The report must be filed with the MNR no later than September 30th, and must also be filed with the regional municipality or county and the local municipality in which the site is located.

During the term of the licence or permit, the licensee/permittee must keep a copy of every report submitted to MNR. The CARs are public information; any person may examine a CAR and receive a copy of the report at a reasonable charge.

When a licensee/permittee reports a violation on the CAR, they must indicate how and when the violation will be fixed. The standard time period for fixing a violation is 90 days, unless the MNR Aggregate Inspector approves an extension in writing before the report is submitted to MNR. If the licensee/permittee stops the activity causing the violation (e.g. placing a stockpile within 30m of the boundary) and the violation is fixed (e.g. the stockpile is removed) during the approved time period, the licensee/permittee is protected from prosecution.

If the licensee/permittee does not submit the CAR by September 30th or does not fix a violation identified in a report by the approved deadline date, the licence or permit is automatically suspended until the report is submitted or the violation is fixed.

There is no provision in the legislation to extend the 90-day remedial action period once the CAR has been filed with MNR.

Changes to Operations

Over time there may be a need to make changes to licences/permits or site plans. These could be as simple as a change in address or corporate name, or more complicated, such as a change in extraction depth or the amount of aggregate that can be removed from a site in a given year. Amendments to site plans or licence/permit conditions can be requested by either the licensee/permittee or by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Prescribed Conditions (attached to licences and permits issued after June 27, 1997) cannot be changed or removed.

Conditions on the site plans, licence or permit may be in place as a result of extensive review and discussion during the application process and may have been included to satisfy concerns raised by individuals, agencies or Ontario Municipal Board recommendations. Therefore, amendments are considered only with careful review of the implications.

When a site plan amendment is requested by the licensee/permittee, they must provide any information (e.g. updated site plan, new technical reports) that MNR considers necessary to assess the change in the operation and/or rehabilitation of the site.

For major site plan amendments (e.g. change in extraction depth, increasing the amount of aggregate to be removed each year, significant changes to the operation or rehabilitation of the site), the licensee or permittee may be required to circulate the proposed amendment to agencies such as the Ministry of the Environment or Conservation Authorities.

On licenced sites, all changes to licence conditions and all major site plan amendments must be circulated to municipalities and posted on the Environmental Registry under the Environmental Bill of Rights.