Regulation - LGIC
Revisions to Category 14 and Category 9 of the Aggregate Resources of Ontario Provincial Standards
Regulation Number(s):
Ontario Regulation 244/97
Instrument Type:
Regulation - LGIC
Bill or Act:
Aggregate Resources Act
Summary of Decision:
The amendments to category 14 and 9 of the Provincial Standards were approved by the Minister of Natural Resources on June 21, 2006.
Further Information:
Link to Environmental Registry
Aggregate Resources Act
Ontario Regulation 244/97
Environmental Registry
Proposal Number:
06-MNR002
Posting Date:
July 27, 2006
Summary of Proposal:
The proposed changes will amend category 14 and section 2 of category 9 of the Provincial Standards with respect to the construction and maintenance of forest access roads within a forest management plan to address the following:
- to extend the aggregate permit exemption from two years to 10 years, which would be in alignment with the forest industry's 10-year forest management plans;
- to allow the aggregate from an exempted pit to be used for construction and maintenance of a forest access road within the management unit, whereas the current regulation only allows aggregate to be used for initial construction of a road;
- to bring standards into compliance with forest management plan changes approved in 2004 that expand the maximum width of forest access road corridors from a previous maximum of 500 metres to 1,000 metres, in areas where MNR has conducted environmental scanning;
- at all times during extraction, no under-cutting of the working face shall be permitted;
- to ensure that progressive rehabilitation of a category 14 site will be ongoing during the period the site is held by the forest industry;
- requiring that the working face be sloped at the angle of repose, to comply with the Ministry of Labour's safety requirements;
- vertical height of all working faces shall not be more than 1.5 metres above the maximum reach of the equipment;
- under the Occupier's Liability Act, the operator/contractor must ensure that the site is kept in a safe condition and control who enters the site; and
- within 10 years, the Forest Resource Licence holder can apply for a category 9 permit and as long as the site meets the exemption criteria for 14 and is less than 3 hectares, they are exempt from the technical reports required under a category 9 application.
- to extend the aggregate permit exemption from two years to 10 years, which would be in alignment with the forest industry's 10-year forest management plans;
- to allow the aggregate from an exempted pit to be used for construction and maintenance of a forest access road within the management unit, whereas the current regulation only allows aggregate to be used for initial construction of a road;
- to bring standards into compliance with forest management plan changes approved in 2004 that expand the maximum width of forest access road corridors from a previous maximum of 500 metres to 1,000 metres, in areas where MNR has conducted environmental scanning;
- at all times during extraction, no under-cutting of the working face shall be permitted;
- to ensure that progressive rehabilitation of a category 14 site will be ongoing during the period the site is held by the forest industry;
- requiring that the working face be sloped at the angle of repose, to comply with the Ministry of Labour's safety requirements;
- vertical height of all working faces shall not be more than 1.5 metres above the maximum reach of the equipment;
- under the Occupier's Liability Act, the operator/contractor must ensure that the site is kept in a safe condition and control who enters the site; and
- within 10 years, the Forest Resource Licence holder can apply for a category 9 permit and as long as the site meets the exemption criteria for 14 and is less than 3 hectares, they are exempt from the technical reports required under a category 9 application.
Contact Address:
Stuart Thatcher, Senior Policy Advisor, Aggregate and Petroleum Resources Section
MNR Lands and Waters Branch
P.O. Box 7000, 300 Water Street
Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 8M5
PHONE: (705) 755-1286 FAX: (705) 755-1206
MNR Lands and Waters Branch
P.O. Box 7000, 300 Water Street
Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 8M5
PHONE: (705) 755-1286 FAX: (705) 755-1206
Effective Date:
June 21, 2006
Decision:
Approved