Rules & Regulations

The Aggregate Resources Act and Regulations

The purposes of the act are: 

• to provide for the management of the aggregate resources of Ontario
• to control and regulate aggregate operations on both Crown and private lands
• to require the rehabilitation of land from which aggregate has been excavated
• to minimize the adverse impact on the environment from aggregate operations.

The act and the regulations apply to the excavation of:

• all aggregate and topsoil on Crown land and all Crown-owned aggregate and topsoil
• all aggregate and topsoil from land under natural water bodies
• all aggregate on private land in designated areas* of the province.

* “Designated areas” means areas that are identified in the regulations.

The act and the regulations do not apply where: 

• material is not defined as “aggregate” under the act
• material is excluded from the definition of “rock” under the act, or
• material is being extracted through underground mining (that is, not open pit).

The term "aggregate" is defined by the act as gravel, sand, clay, earth, shale, stone, limestone, dolostone, sandstone, marble, granite, and rock. "Rock" does not include metallic ores, andalusite, asbestos, barite, coal, diamond, graphite, gypsum, kaolin, kyanite, lepidolite, magnesite, mica, nepheline syenite, petalite, phosphate rock, salt, sillimanite, spodumene, talc or wollastonite.

Underground aggregate mining and the extraction of materials exempted from the definition of "rock" are regulated under the Mining Act. The Mining Act is administered by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.
 

Aggregate Resources of Ontario: Provincial Standards Version 1.0

The Provincial Standards were developed to provide concise, up-front and user-friendly requirements for the delivery of the Aggregate Resources Act.
They set out: 

• standard criteria for licence, aggregate permit and wayside permit applications
• standard notification and consultation procedures for aggregate licence, aggregate permit and wayside permit applications
• standard conditions (referred to as "prescribed conditions") that are attached to every new issuance of a licence, aggregate permit and wayside permit
• operational standards for licences, aggregate permits and wayside permits that apply to every site regulated under the act.

Other Provincial & Federal Legislation Affecting Aggregate Extraction

Receiving a licence or 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 Planning Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Ontario Water Resources Act, the Environmental Protection Act and the Greenbelt Act.