Frequently Asked Questions

As required under the regulation, Project Leaders, Owners and Site Operators are required to use the Excess Soil Registry to file notices for certain Project Areas, Reuse Sites, and Residential Development Soil Depot sites where Excess Soil is generated, transported, temporarily placed, and deposited.

Project Leaders, Owners and Site Operators can also assign an Authorized Person to file a notice and pay fees in the Registry on their behalf.

Role definitions

Project Leader

In O. Reg. 406/19, the Project Leader means, in respect of a project, the person or persons who are ultimately responsible for making decisions relating to the planning and implementation of the project.

The Project Leader is responsible for ensuring that a Project Area Notice is filed if required. They must always complete and sign the required declarations that are a component of the notice being filed and pay Registry fees.

Owner

A person who owns the land, with an interest upon whose credit, behalf, privity or direct benefit an improvement is made to the premises.

For a Reuse Site or a Residential Development Soil Depot, an Operator may complete all aspects of the relevant notice filing in the Registry.

Operator

A person who has the charge, management, or control of a site. An Operator may be an owner of a property, lease a property or be contracted to operate a Project Area Site, Reuse Site or Residential Development Soil Depot.

For a Reuse Site or a Residential Development Soil Depot, an Operator may complete all aspects of the relevant notice filing in the Registry.

Authorized Person

A person who is authorized by the Project Leader, Owner, or Operator of a site, to complete a notice filing and pay fees on their behalf.

The Authorized Person can initiate a notice in the Registry if permitted to by the Project Leader, Owner, or Operator of a site, and can complete all required notice information and pay applicable fees on their behalf.

Qualified person (QP)

QPs under the regulation have the same meaning as section 5 and 6 of Ontario Regulation 153/04 (O. Reg. 153/04).

Section 5 of O. Reg. 153/04 defines a Qualified Person as professional engineers and geoscientists – these are the persons who may oversee or conduct environmental site assessments or complete certifications in a Record of Site Condition. Section 6 of O. Reg. 153/04 sets out the requirements for Qualified Persons who conduct or oversee a risk assessment.

A QP may be designated as an Authorized Person by the Project Leader or by an Owner/Operator to file a notice to the Excess Soil Registry on their behalf.

In December 2022, the Government of Ontario finalized amendments to O. Reg. 406/19: On-Site and Excess Soil Regulation (Excess Soil Regulation) and the Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards (Soil Rules), which came into effect January 1, 2023.

If a project triggers the filing requirements under the Excess Soil Regulation, the process for filing notices has not changed.
However, the amended regulation may affect the types of projects for which a notice is required to be filed through the Excess Soil Registry.

The two key amendments made to the regulation mean:

• Reuse planning requirements are not triggered for projects defined as “low-risk project areas”, being a property at which the current or last property use was agricultural or other, residential, parkland or institutional (as defined under O. Reg. 153/04), that would otherwise have been triggered to complete reuse planning requirements as a result of being located within an area of settlement and removing at least 2,000m3 of excess soil. Other triggers for reuse planning may still apply.
• The limit on the maximum size of soil storage piles (previously 2,500 m3) has been removed. Other soil storage rules would continue to apply, including the requirement to prevent any adverse effects.

If you have questions about the Excess Soil Regulation or the amendments, contact the ministry at MECP.LandPolicy@ontario.ca.

See our FAQ to see “Who needs to file notices?”

The regulation requires notices to be filed for three types of activities:

1. Notice filings for excess soil from Project Areas that can be made by a Project Leader or Authorized Person and may require retaining a Qualified Person. These notices will be required starting January 1^st, 2022, before soil that will become excess soil is removed from the Project Area. There will be two fillings for each notice:

1. An initial filing before the soil is removed, which will require the following information to be provided:

• • a description of the project and Project Area including the location of each property within the project area
  • the contact information of the Project Leader, Operator or Authorized Person and the person responsible for transportation, and if applicable, the qualified person
  • an estimated amount of the soil that will be generated broken down by quality standard
  • a list of substances/materials that were added to the soil
  • the location of temporary or final sites that the soil will be transported to
  • details of the Reuse Site(s) where the soil will be moved to
  • information on any peer review or certification processes if applicable
  • and a declaration by the Project Leader.

Exceptions

The Project Leader, Operator or Authorized Person may file a notice after soil that will become excess soil has been removed from the project area if:

• conducting the required sampling and analysis at the project area is impractical
• the soil is removed from the project area and delivered to a temporary site to conduct the required sampling, and
• the Project Leader, Operator or Authorized Person makes sure the required sampling is conducted as soon as the soil is delivered to the temporary site

If soil is removed before a notice is filed in the Registry, the Project Leader, Operator, or Authorized Person is required to ensure that the notice is filed in the Registry before the soil that has become excess soil is transported from the temporary site to the final site.

More information about when this type of notice filing is not required can be found under Schedule 2 of the regulation.

The Project Leader or Authorized Person is required to update notice filings that are no longer complete or accurate within 30 days after the day the person becomes aware that the information is no longer complete or accurate.

2. A final notice within 30 days after excess soil has been removed from the Project Area or temporary site which will require the following information:

• the amount of excess soil removed from the Project Area that was deposited at: a class 1 soil management site, a class 2 soil management site, a reuse site, a local waste transfer facility, and a landfilling site or dump
• the date on which the last load of excess soil was removed from the project area or temporary site
• a declaration by the Project Leader

2. Notice filings for Residential Development Soil Depots can be made by an Owner, Operator, or Authorized Person. This notice will be required before excess soil is deposited on a residential development soil depot site if the depot commences operation on or after January 1, 2022, or if the depot was already in operation when the requirement to file a notice comes into effect, the notice should be filed ahead of January 1, 2022.

The Owner or Operator of the Residential Development Soil Depot must ensure that the quality of the excess soil accepted and managed at the depot meets the applicable Excess Soil Quality Standards set out in the regulation. There will be two filings for each notice:

1. An initial filing before the soil is received, which will require the following information to be provided:
   • the site location
   • the contact information of the Site Owner and Operator
   • the project commencement date
   • the estimated amount of soil (including inventory on-site)
   • the site instrument identification
   • and a declaration by the Site Owner or Operator.
2. A final filling within 90 days of the depot closing indicating the date when the depot ceased operations, and a declaration by the Site Owner or Operator.

3. Notice filings for Reuse Sites can be made by a Site Owner, Operator, or an Authorized Person. These will be required starting January 1^st, 2022, and apply to a Reuse Site that expects at least 10,000 m3 of excess soil to be deposited after January 1^st, 2022 (including Reuse Sites that were in operation before that date). There will be two filings for each notice:

1. An initial filing before the excess soil is deposited, which will require the following information to be provided:
   • the site location/property type
   • the contact information of the Site Owner and Operator
   • a description of the undertaking
   • the applicable excess soil quality standards for the site
   • the estimated amount of soil by quality standard
   • the estimated dates when the first and last soil load will be deposited
   • the site instrument identification
   • and a declaration by the Site Owner or Operator.
2. A final notice filing within 30 days after the final load of excess soil has been deposited at the Reuse Site which will require the following information:
   • confirmation that all excess soil that will be reused for a beneficial purpose has been deposited at the reuse site
   • the total amount of excess soil that was deposited
   • the date the final load of excess soil was deposited
   • and a declaration by the owner or operator.

The Site Owner or Operator is required to update notice filings that are no longer complete or accurate within 30 days after the day the person becomes aware that the information is no longer complete or accurate.

Exemptions:

Reuse Sites that are part of infrastructure projects are not required to file notices.

“In April 2024, the Government of Ontario finalized amendments to Reg. 406/19: On-Site and Excess Soil Regulation (Excess Soil Regulation) and the Rules for Soil Management and Excess Soil Quality Standards (Soil Rules), which came into effect April 23, 2024. A key amendment made to the regulation means: Enhanced usability of project leader-owned or controlled storage sites (Class 2 soil management sites and local waste transfer facilities) and soil depots to allow for larger volumes of soil being managed without requiring a waste approval, now up to 25,000 m3 (previously 10,000 m3) with additional flexibility for public bodies and having greater alignment of rules across sites.

If you have questions about the Excess Soil Regulation or the amendments, contact the ministry at MECP.LandPolicy@ontario.ca. See our FAQ to see “Who needs to file notices?”

Projects initiated in 2022 that have continued into 2023 and meet the requirements to file a notice will be required to file as of January 1, 2023. This means that if your project began in 2022 and you are still moving excess soil as of January 1, 2023, you may be subject to the filing requirements.

Read our FAQ to see “Who need to file notices?“

No, users that filed notices in the Excess Soil Registry and paid the associated Registry fees before the temporary suspension came into effect on April 21, 2022, were complying with the necessary requirements of the regulation. Notices filed before the pause will continue to be recognized after January 1, 2023. No refunds will be issued.

Fees associated with project area notices are calculated at a variable rate based on the volume of soil being moved. Flat fees will be applied to Project Area Notices for soil volumes below and above certain thresholds.

Fees associated with Reuse Site Notices are tiered, with increasing flat fees applied according to the volume of soil being accepted at the reuse site.

There is one flat fee associated with Residential Soil Depot Notices.

Fees will be consulted upon annually as required by the RRCEA.

Yes, there are some key changes to the data reported to Stewardship Ontario and what needs to be reported under the new regulation, which may affect what a producer is obligated for and should be considered if using data previously reported to Stewardship Ontario:

• There are fewer reporting categories than under the Stewardship Ontario program
• Certified compostable packaging and products now must be reported separately, but this category does not have management requirements
• There are only two deductions permitted under the Blue Box Regulation, and producers must report total supply and then report any weight to be deducted separately
• Exemptions are based on tonnage supply under each material category instead of a total supply weight threshold of less than 15 tonnes as in Stewardship Ontario’s program

See our FAQ to understand “What deductions are available to producers under the Blue Box Regulation?”; “Are there exemptions for Blue Box producers?“; “Are there any differences in Blue Box producer hierarchies between the current Stewardship Ontario program and the new Blue Box Regulation?”; and “Are there are any differences in obligated Blue Box materials between the current Stewardship Ontario program and the new Blue Box Regulation?”

The Excess Soil Registry is a record of Excess Soil generation and movement established and maintained by the Authority to:

• enable regulated persons to comply with registration and notice filing requirements outlined in the regulation;
• enable the ministry access to notice filings and associated data; and
• enable public access to the information contained in notice filings.

Project Leaders, Reuse Site Owners or Operators, and Residential Development Soil Depot Operators, as defined in the Excess Soil Regulation, are required to ensure notices are filed to the Excess Soil Registry for certain Project Areas (where Excess Soil is generated), Reuse Sites (where Excess Soil is deposited), and Residential Development Soil Depot sites (where Excess Soil is temporarily placed).

On April 21, 2022, the Ontario Government announced a temporary suspension of the registration and reporting requirements under the Excess Soil Regulation. The requirements were suspended until January 1, 2023. The Excess Soil Registry remained open for users during the pause.

As of January 1, construction and development Project Leaders and Operators/Owners of soil Reuse Sites and Residential Development Soil Depot sites are required to register and file notices about how they reuse and dispose of excess soil in Ontario through RPRA’s Excess Soil Registry.

Yes. However, if a collection site accepts more than 10 tires from a person on a single day, the operator of the site needs to record the person’s name, contact information and the number of tires accepted at the site from that person.

In their annual performance report, collectors will be asked to report the number of times they accepted more than 10 tires from one person in a single day. The contact information of the person who dropped off the tires must be retained in collectors’ records and produced during any RPRA inspection.

There are three reports for eligible communities under the Blue Box Regulation: an Initial Report, a Transition Report and Change Reports.

• The Initial Report will be submitted by all communities in 2021. It will provide an overview of the communities and of the WDTA Blue Box program that operates in that community.
• The Transition Report will be submitted by communities 2 years prior to their transition year. It provides more detailed information about the WDTA Blue Box program that operates in the community.
• Local municipalities and local services boards are not required to submit Change Reports to update information provided in their Initial or Transition Reports. Any changes should be addressed with Circular Materials in their role as the Administrator of the common collection system. Contact operations@circularmaterials.ca for more information.

These reports need to be completed by all eligible communities under the Blue Box Regulation.

An eligible community is a local municipality or local services board area that is not located in the Far North, or a reserve that is registered by a First Nation with the Authority and not located in the Far North.

• The Far North has the same meaning as in the Far North Act, 2010. To determine whether a community is in the Far North, use this link.
• A local municipality means a single-tier municipality or a lower-tier municipality. A local services board has the same meaning as “Board” in the Northern Services Boards Act.
• A First Nation means a council of the Band as referred to in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act (Canada).

If you are an upper-tier municipality or waste association, these reports must be submitted separately for each eligible community in your program.

Visit the Municipal and First Nation webpages for more information.

If a receiver receives a shipment with a shipment date in the 2023 calendar year that has an accompanying paper manifest and they have not been notified by the generator or carrier that there is permission to submit paper for that particular shipment, they should contact the generator and/or carrier to explain that the shipment needs to be completed through RPRA’s new Hazardous Waste Program Registry. The paper manifest would not be accepted by the ministry and does not meet the regulatory requirements under the amended Regulation 347: General – Waste Management. Starting January 1, 2023, reporting on waste management activities, including manifesting, is to be completed through RPRA’s new digital registry. 

Note that there may be an exceptional and rare circumstance where a generator has received approval from the ministry to submit paper manifests to the ministry for a time-limited period. The generator or carrier should make the receiver aware of this undue hardship approval. This undue hardship provision is outlined in section 27.1 (1) of Regulation 347 that will take effect January 1, 2023. In this exceptional circumstance, the 2023 shipment can proceed through a paper manifest. 

RPRA has developed a library of resources to support Registry users navigate the online system and meet their regulatory requirements. RPRA consistently adds to this pool of resources based on upcoming requirements, emerging needs, and questions we receive from stakeholders.

View Registry resources for each program:

• Batteries
• Blue Box
• Hazardous and Special Products
• ITT/AV
• Lighting
• Tires
• Excess Soil Registry
• Hazardous Waste Program Registry

RPRA is both required and committed to engaging registrants and other interested stakeholders through public consultation as a way of ensuring we fully understand their needs and preferences before making decisions that affect them. See our guiding principles for public consultations.

RPRA is required to publicly consult on the following: 

• Wind-up plans (including amendments) for legacy waste diversion programs and industry funding organizations  
• RPRA’s fees for producer responsibility programs and digital reporting services 
• Topics as directed by the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and/or outlined in legislation

Outside of what is required, RPRA can choose to publicly consult on any topic or decision. This may happen through a broad, formal consultation (i.e. consultations listed on our website) or targeted conversations with key stakeholders through our advisory councils.

It is not in RPRA’s practice to publicly consult on our compliance and enforcement decisions. RPRA does not disclose details to the public about specific compliance cases and decisions coming out of those cases.

Yes. A PDF feature is available on the Datacall main page. This feature is offered throughout the entire Datacall submission period, including after the Datacall deadline. You can go back to access previous Datacall years and download the PDF’s.

If there are several users downloading PDFs at the same time, your PDF copy will be emailed to you typically by the end of the day. Select the sections you would like sent and enter an email address to receive the PDF files.

Producers are obligated parties under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act and are ultimately responsible for their data submitted through RPRA’s Registry. Producers can choose to contract with an external consultant to support their data submission, but third parties have limited permissions in the Registry as they are not regulated parties.

A producer can choose to assign a primary or secondary user profile in their Registry account to an external consultant. An external consultant may submit supply data reports and/or pay registry fees on the producer’s behalf.

External consultants cannot submit and/or sign registration, executive attestations, account admin changes or supply data adjustment documentation on behalf of a producer. External consultants cannot be account admins, nor can they manage a PRO within the Registry on behalf of a producer.

Any donated or re-supplied paper products or other Blue Box materials that are supplied to consumers through a reuse store or upcycling event should not be included in your supply report.

Fees are charged upon completion of the initial notice filing, whether it’s a Project Area Notice, Reuse Site Notice, or Residential Development Soil Depot Notice. For Project Area and Reuse Area Notices, there may be a fee charged at the final filing (close-out), depending on whether the volume of soil generated or accepted has increased from what was reported in the initial notice filing.

RPRA has developed an Excess Soil Registry Resources webpage to help users navigate the online system and complete common activities such as account creation, filing and searching for notices. Resources include step-by-instructions and walk-through videos.