EJQ2 - Fall 2024 - Journal - Page 24
The four areas of soil that did not meet the applicable ESQS for
agricultural or other properties and were excavated with veri昀椀cation
samples were collected to con昀椀rm the remaining soil at the excavation
limits met standards.
Following removal of the non-compliant soil and debris, the soil recovered
from the 30-metre bu昀昀er was used to back昀椀ll the excavations and
reshape the remaining excess soil to a natural grade. Full remediation
reporting was prepared for submission to the MECP in completing the
requirements of the MECP Order. The remediation activities included
tracking of the soil loads sent for relocation and disposal as well as 昀椀ling a
Project Area Notice on the Excess Soil Registry, to ensure compliance with
O. Reg. 406/19.
Cost savings for the mitigation activities were realized through utilizing a
contractor that was a family friend and completing many of the soil movement activities on evenings and weekends. However, signi昀椀cant contractor
costs were still realized.
A summary of the costs to bring this site back into compliance
are as follows:
Initial Workplan Preparation to address the MECP Order
$2,000
Test-pitting Program and Initial Soil Characterization and Documentation
$24,000
Follow-up Soil Remediation Con昀椀rmation
$27,000
RPRA Registry and Soil Transport Tracking
$1,500
Contractor Earth Moving and Debris Recovery Costs
$125,000
Impacted Soil and Debris Disposal at Land昀椀ll (37 loads, cost estimated)
$55,000
Legal Costs
$ unknown
Total Estimated Cost of Mitigating Illegal Dump Site
$234,500+
It is expected that the landowner received some compensation for the dumping
activities (assumed to be an average of $25 per load for illustration purposes) and
at an estimated volume of 10,000 m3 (and 10 m3 per load for an estimate of 1,000
loads) the overall compensation in receiving the excess soil loads would be on the
order of $25,000. This income has been far outweighed by the cost to mitigate this
illegal dumping. However, if we consider the potential liabilities associated with
full removal of the 昀椀ll placement at full earth movement cost (excavation and disposal at a unit rate of $100 per m3 and the 10,000 m3 estimated volume), the total
liability could be well over $1 million. So, in this case, non-compliance ended up
with signi昀椀cant 昀椀nancial liabilities for the property owners.
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