A new Soil & Groundwater Protocol was presented to the Regional Planning and Economic Development Committee on April 6, 2021. The committee had no comments regarding the Protocol.
The Protocol includes updates to make it consistent with updated O.Reg. 153/04, and other improvements to streamline and simplify the process.
Highlights of the updates include:
- Remediation of the sites containing various exceedances, such as road salt, would be exempt from the requirement for an RSC;
- The Region's Reliance Letter has been upgraded;
- Improvements to the Use of the Non-Potable Groundwater Standard - extends the conditional period to one year from 15 days;
- Site Screening Questionnaire (SSQ) - for minor development proposals, this can now be completed by an Authorized Officer/Owner instead of a QP;
- SSQ was simplified from 18 to 8 questions;
- Below grade work can now start before an RSC and/or RA has been filed. The flexibility allows for the scenario where the timing of the RSC process can be difficult to coordinate with the normal aspects of development work;
- ESA reports - flexibility to allow for some deviations from O.Reg. 153/04 regulatory requirements, giving flexibility to the Peer Review Process;
- Peer Review Process streamlining - greater emphasis on direct communication between the QP and the Region Peer Reviewer.
The presentation is expected to be brought to Regional Council on April 26, 2021.
The presentation can be viewed here.
