001-45_EJQR10_FALL26_PT - Flipbook - Page 12
TEMPORARY CAPACITY. Class 1 sites are generally part of the movement
and management network rather than the 昀椀nal destination. They
can store, process, condition and redirect soil, but they cannot create
bene昀椀cial reuse demand or permanent placement capacity downstream.
INFORMATION. Ontario’s receiving network remains di昀케cult to see as a
whole. Relevant information is distributed across regulatory approvals,
registry 昀椀lings and other public records. A project team trying to redirect
a soil stream in January 2027 should not need to reconstruct that network
from scratch.
Visibility is becoming part of capacity
Several improvements could make the transition easier:
The ministry or RPRA could publish a live roster of Class 1 sites showing
approval numbers, operating status, accepted soil categories and relevant
receiving limits.
Land昀椀ll annual reports that are already prepared could also be made
publicly accessible, providing a much better understanding of how much
soil is currently entering disposal facilities and for what purpose.
More broadly, Ontario needs a clearer way to connect generators with appropriate receiving destinations. The ability for developers, contractors, consultants, project leaders
and operators to quickly match destinations for excess soil becomes more important as
the 2027 restriction approaches. Much of the information needed to improve market visibility already exists, but it remains fragmented across regulatory and registry systems.
Ontario appears to have substantial Class 1 capacity on paper. The harder question is
whether that capacity is available in the right places, for the right soils, at the right
time. With January 1 approaching, visibility is no longer separate from capacity. It is
part of capacity.
Scott Ambridge, P.Eng, is a senior engineer in Environmental Services at
Stantec Consulting Ltd. in Ottawa. This analysis used data from RPRA’s Excess
Soil Registry, Ontario’s Access Environment ECA map service and instrument
documents, and Environmental Registry of Ontario notices, accessed in
August 2026. Capacity 昀椀gures are annualized approval ceilings extracted
from instrument text and manually reviewed; registry destination volumes are proponent
estimates, not weighbridge records; and the approval scan begins in 2022. Full methodology
and interactive visualizations are available from the author: Scott.Ambridge@stantec.com.
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