Soil and Groundwater Assessment Protocol

In 1996, the Province of Ontario assigned the Region with the responsibility to review site contamination matters. In 1997, Regional Council endorsed its first Site Contamination Protocol. Since then, the Protocol has been regularly modified. On April 28, 2021, Regional Council endorsed a new Protocol called the Soil and Groundwater Assessment Protocol (Protocol) which replaced the previous Protocol.

The new Protocol ensures consistency with Provincial legislative updates and acknowledges current trends in the development industry. The Protocol also ensures that the protection of human health and the natural environment is not adversely affected as it relates to soil and groundwater and is kept to the highest standards through the Region's review of development applications. The Protocol generally applies to all development applications made under the Planning Act and is now administered by the Region's area municipalities.

What is the Soil and Groundwater Assessment Protocol?

The Protocol is a tool that requires applicants to provide satisfactory documentation (e.g. the completion of a questionnaire form and/or a Phase One and Two Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) reports, prepared by a Qualified Person (QP) in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act, which addresses a property's soil and groundwater standards for development proposals.

If contamination is detected on a property, the Protocol also provides remediation options/strategies to ensure that its soil and/or groundwater conditions do not pose any negative impacts on human health and/or the natural environment in accordance with the Ontario Brownfields Regulation (O.Reg. 153/04).

The Protocol also provides a framework to process requests to use non-potable groundwater standards in urban areas that do not use private water as a drinking source in accordance with the Ontario Brownfields Regulation.

When does the Protocol Apply?

The Protocol generally applies to any development application made under the Planning Act within the Region.

Area municipalities are responsible for reviewing site contamination matters for various planning applications. Where planning decisions are made by the area municipality, the Region expects that such decisions will be consistent with this Protocol.

Where an applicant proposes a prescribed change in land use (e.g. a land use that is typically more sensitive in nature than the current land use) and/or in some cases where an applicant proposes to keep site contaminants on-site, this Protocol requires applicants to coordinate such requests through the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) Brownfields Redevelopment.

This Protocol does not regulate fill operations relating to its importation and/or exportation. For more information on fill operations, please contact the applicable area municipality.

Required Documents

The Site Screening Questionnaire (SSQ) is intended for development applications which do not require significant analysis or the completion of an ESA. Depending on the complexity of the proposal and nature of the application, the SSQ must be filled out by either the Owner/Authorized Agent and their QP (under certain scenarios). See Appendix B of the Protocol for more information about our SSQ requirements.

Site Screening Questionnaire

Phase One and Phase Two ESAs (including all supporting/updated documentation) must be accompanied by a QP signature and seal on the Reliance Letter granting third-party reliance on the report(s), and a completed Certificate of Insurance to ensure sufficient liability insurance is provided in accordance with the Protocol. The Region encourages that all ESA reports be prepared in accordance with O.Reg. 153/04 reporting requirements. If a QP elects not to prepare their ESA reports in accordance with the Provincial requirements, they must outline all such deviations and a supporting rationale in their report for Regional staff to review and ensure compliance with the Protocol. See Appendix E of the Protocol for more information about our ESA and insurance requirements.

Reliance Letter - This document allows the Region to rely on the QP's work prepared on a development proposal.
Certificate of Insurance - This document ensures that the QP has sufficient professional liability insurance for the work they have prepared on a development proposal.

Non-Potable Groundwater Requests (NPGR)

NPGRs apply to areas where the predominant drinking water source is from a municipal water supply.

A QP may submit a written notice/request to the Regional Clerk and the Clerk of the area municipality where the development proposal is taking place to use the less stringent non-potable groundwater standards, provided that the following is met:

The development is located within the Region’s serviced urban area; and
That the water provided within a 250-metre radius from the development property is from a municipal drinking water supply.

The Region may approve the use of groundwater standards in Tables 3, 7 and 9 of the MECP Site Condition Standards (SCS) for a property, subject to various criteria outlined in Appendix L of this Protocol.

Contact Us

For more information on the Soil and Groundwater Assessment Protocol, please contact the Region of Durham Community Growth and Economic Development Department.

For more information and/or additional answers to technical questions related to Ontario’s Brownfields Regulation, please visit the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks website.