EJQ2 - Fall 2024 - Journal - Page 55
and development related projects. Contaminant levels can be more
variable, but in aggregate, can be expected to be much lower than
would be the case in a brown昀椀elds/contaminated sites context
(noting too that more heavily impacted soils encountered at these
projects would still nevertheless be required to be segregated as
contaminated). In other words, the concern relating to greater overall
contaminant loading in an excess soils scenario is largely mitigated
by the fact that the average or typical concentrations will be much
lower (i.e., with the lower typical concentrations o昀昀setting the higher
potential volumes).
This becomes important when one considers that some level of
anthropogenic soil quality impacts are typically encountered very
broadly in urban areas (where large volumes of excess soils are
produced), often at relatively low levels, but still high enough that
more conservative standards can easily be exceeded. The more
conservative the standards, the less soil can be reused, with more
soil being directed to land昀椀lls. The public utility of this dynamic is
poor, both in terms of the potential human health and environmental
bene昀椀t, and the implications in terms of waste management
planning.
If the existing brown昀椀eld standards had instead simply been
applied to the management of excess soils, would this have
signi昀椀cantly a昀昀ected the level of protection to human health and the
environment? For the aforementioned reasons, the answer is likely
that there was very little if any bene昀椀t to the extra conservatism.
Theoretically, there may be cases where the extra conservatism
may be bene昀椀cial, but such cases would likely be very rare. The
costs, however, are signi昀椀cant, with these taking the form of
greater volumes of soil being considered contaminated (and thus
being directed to land昀椀lls and unable to be bene昀椀cially reused),
and higher overall excess soils management costs. It is noted that a
large portion of the excess soils being managed across the province
are related to public infrastructure projects, with these costs being
funded as tax-based expenditures that divert resources from other,
and perhaps more pressing public needs.
A re-examination of the ESQS in this light by the Ontario
government would be welcome.
Brent Loney is a partner at Dillon Consulting Limited.
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