Provincial Policy Statement Mineral Aggregate Resources

The Provincial Policy Statement is issued under the authority of Section 3 of the Planning Act and came into effect on March 1, 2005. It applies to all applications, matters or proceedings commenced on or after March 1, 2005.

In respect of the exercise of any authority that affects a planning matter, Section 3 of the Planning Act requires that decisions affecting planning matters "shall be consistent with" policy statements issued under the Act.

　

　

2.5 Mineral Aggregate Resources

2.5.1 Mineral aggregate resources shall be protected for long-term use.

2.5.2 Protection of Long-Term Resource Supply

2.5.2.1 As much of the mineral aggregate resources as is realistically possible shall be made available as close to markets as possible.

Demonstration of need for mineral aggregate resources, including any type of supply/demand analysis, shall not be required, notwithstanding the availability, designation or licensing for extraction of mineral aggregate resources locally or elsewhere.

2.5.2.2 Extraction shall be undertaken in a manner which minimizes social and environmental impacts.

2.5.2.3 The conservation of mineral aggregate resources should be promoted by making provision for the recovery of these resources, wherever feasible.

2.5.2.4 Mineral aggregate operations shall be protected from development and activities that would preclude or hinder their expansion or continued use or which would be incompatible for reasons of public health, public safety or environmental impact. Existing mineral aggregate operations shall be permitted to continue without the need for official plan amendment, rezoning or development permit under the Planning Act. When a license for extraction or operation ceases to exist, policy 2.5.2.5 continues to apply.

2.5.2.5 In areas adjacent to or in known deposits of mineral aggregate resources, development and activities which would preclude or hinder the establishment of new operations or access to the resources shall only be permitted if:


resource use would not be feasible; or


the proposed land use or development serves a greater long-term public interest; and


issues of public health, public safety and environmental impact are addressed.
2.5.3 Rehabilitation

2.5.3.1 Progressive and final rehabilitation shall be required to accommodate subsequent land uses, to promote land use compatibility, and to recognize the interim nature of extraction. Final rehabilitation shall take surrounding land use and approved land use designations into consideration.

2.5.3.2 In parts of the Province not designated under the Aggregate Resources Act, rehabilitation standards that are compatible with those under the Act should be adopted for extraction operations on private lands.

2.5.4 Extraction in Prime Agricultural Areas

2.5.4.1 In prime agricultural areas, on prime agricultural land, extraction of mineral aggregate resources is permitted as an interim use provided that rehabilitation of the site will be carried out so that substantially the same areas and same average soil quality for agriculture are restored.

On these prime agricultural lands, complete agricultural rehabilitation is not required if:



there is a substantial quantity of mineral aggregate resources below the water table warranting extraction, or the depth of planned extraction in a quarry makes restoration of pre-extraction agricultural capability unfeasible;


other alternatives have been considered by the applicant and found unsuitable. The consideration of other alternatives shall include resources in areas of Canada Land Inventory Class 4 to 7 soils, resources on lands identified as designated growth areas, and resources on prime agricultural lands where rehabilitation is feasible. Where no other alternatives are found, prime agricultural lands shall be protected in this order of priority: specialty crop areas, Canada Land Inventory Classes 1, 2 and 3; and


agricultural rehabilitation in remaining areas is maximized.
2.5.5 Wayside Pits and Quarries, Portable Asphalt Plants and Portable Concrete Plants

2.5.5.1 Wayside pits and quarries, portable asphalt plants and portable concrete plants used on public authority contracts shall be permitted, without the need for an official plan amendment, rezoning, or development permit under the Planning Act in all areas, except those areas of existing development or particular environmental sensitivity which have been determined to be incompatible with extraction and associated activities.

2.6 Cultural Heritage and Archaeology

2.6.1 Significant built heritage resources and significant cultural heritage landscapes shall be conserved.

2.6.2 Development and site alteration shall only be permitted on lands containing archaeological resources or areas of archaeological potential if the significant archaeological resources have been conserved by removal and documentation, or by preservation on site. Where significant archaeological resources must be preserved on site, only development and site alteration which maintain the heritage integrity of the site may be permitted.

2.6.3 Development and site alteration may be permitted on adjacent lands to protected heritage property where the proposed development and site alteration has been evaluated and it has been demonstrated that the heritage attributes of the protected heritage property will be conserved.

Mitigative measures and/or alternative development approaches may be required in order to conserve the heritage attributes of the protected heritage property affected by the adjacent development or site alteration.

3.0 Protecting Public Health and Safety

Ontario's long-term prosperity, environmental health and social well-being depend on reducing the potential for public cost or risk to Ontario’s residents from natural or human-made hazards. Development shall be directed away from areas of natural or human-made hazards where there is an unacceptable risk to public health or safety or of property damage.

Accordingly:

3.1 Natural Hazards

3.1.1 Development shall generally be directed to areas outside of:



hazardous lands adjacent to the shorelines of the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River System and large inland lakes which are impacted by flooding hazards, erosion hazards and/or dynamic beach hazards;


hazardous lands adjacent to river, stream and small inland lake systems which are impacted by flooding hazards and/or erosion hazards; and


hazardous sites.
3.1.2 Development and site alteration shall not be permitted within:



the dynamic beach hazard;


defined portions of the one hundred year flood level along connecting channels (the St. Mary's, St. Clair, Detroit, Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers);


areas that would be rendered inaccessible to people and vehicles during times of flooding hazards, erosion hazards and/or dynamic beach hazards, unless it has been demonstrated that the site has safe access appropriate for the nature of the development and the natural hazard; and


a floodway regardless of whether the area of inundation contains high points of land not subject to flooding.
3.1.3 Despite policy 3.1.2, development and site alteration may be permitted in certain areas identified in policy 3.1.2:



in those exceptional situations where a Special Policy Area has been approved. The designation of a Special Policy Area, and any change or modification to the site-specific policies or boundaries applying to a Special Policy Area, must be approved by the Ministers of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Natural Resources prior to the approval authority approving such changes or modifications; or


where the development is limited to uses which by their nature must locate within the floodway, including flood and/or erosion control works or minor additions or passive non-structural uses which do not affect flood flows.
3.1.4 Development shall not be permitted to locate in hazardous lands and hazardous sites where the use is:



an institutional use associated with hospitals, nursing homes, pre-school, school nurseries, day care and schools, where there is a threat to the safe evacuation of the sick, the elderly, persons with disabilities or the young during an emergency as a result of flooding, failure of floodproofing measures or protection works, or erosion;


an essential emergency service such as that provided by fire, police and ambulance stations and electrical substations, which would be impaired during an emergency as a result of flooding, the failure of floodproofing measures and/or protection works, and/or erosion; and


uses associated with the disposal, manufacture, treatment or storage of hazardous substances.
3.1.5 Where the two zone concept for flood plains is applied, development and site alteration may be permitted in the flood fringe, subject to appropriate floodproofing to the flooding hazard elevation or another flooding hazard standard approved by the Minister of Natural Resources.

3.1.6 Further to policy 3.1.5, and except as prohibited in policies 3.1.2 and 3.1.4, development and site alteration may be permitted in those portions of hazardous lands and hazardous sites where the effects and risk to public safety are minor so as to be managed or mitigated in accordance with provincial standards, as determined by the demonstration and achievement of all of the following:



development and site alteration is carried out in accordance with floodproofing standards, protection works standards, and access standards;


vehicles and people have a way of safely entering and exiting the area
during times of flooding, erosion and other emergencies;


new hazards are not created and existing hazards are not aggravated; and


no adverse environmental impacts will result.

3.2 Human-Made Hazards

3.2.1 Development on, abutting or adjacent to lands affected by mine hazards; oil, gas and salt hazards; or former mineral mining operations, mineral aggregate operations or petroleum resource operations may be permitted only if rehabilitation measures to address and mitigate known or suspected hazards are under-way or have been completed.

3.2.2 Contaminated sites shall be remediated as necessary prior to any activity on the site associated with the proposed use such that there will be no adverse effects.

4.0 Implementation and Interpretation

4.1 This Provincial Policy Statement applies to all applications, matters or proceedings commenced on or after March 1, 2005.

4.2 In accordance with Section 3 of the Planning Act, as amended by the Strong Communities (Planning Amendment) Act, 2004, a decision of the council of a municipality, a local board, a planning board, a minister of the Crown and a ministry, board, commission or agency of the government, including the Municipal Board, in respect of the exercise of any authority that affects a planning matter, "shall be consistent with" this Provincial Policy Statement.

Comments, submissions or advice that affect a planning matter that are provided by the council of a municipality, a local board, a planning board, a minister or ministry, board, commission or agency of the government "shall be consistent with" this Provincial Policy Statement.

4.3 This Provincial Policy Statement shall be read in its entirety and all relevant policies are to be applied to each situation.

4.4 In implementing the Provincial Policy Statement, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing may take into account other considerations when making decisions to support strong communities, a clean and healthy environment and the economic vitality of the Province.

4.5 The official plan is the most important vehicle for implementation of this Provincial Policy Statement.

Comprehensive, integrated and long-term planning is best achieved through municipal official plans. Municipal official plans shall identify provincial interests and set out appropriate land use designations and policies. Municipal official plans should also coordinate cross-boundary matters to complement the actions of other planning authorities and promote mutually beneficial solutions.

Municipal official plans shall provide clear, reasonable and attainable policies to protect provincial interests and direct development to suitable areas.

In order to protect provincial interests, planning authorities shall keep their official plans up-to-date with this Provincial Policy Statement. The policies of this Provincial Policy Statement continue to apply after adoption and approval of a municipal official plan.

4.6 The policies of this Provincial Policy Statement represent minimum standards. This Provincial Policy Statement does not prevent planning authorities and decision-makers from going beyond the minimum standards established in specific policies, unless doing so would conflict with any policy of this Provincial Policy Statement.

4.7 A wide range of legislation and regulations may apply to decisions with respect to Planning Act applications. In some cases, a Planning Act proposal may also require approval under other legislation or regulation.

4.8 In addition to land use approvals under the Planning Act, infrastructure may also require approval under other legislation and regulations, including the Environmental Assessment Act; the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 1992; the Environmental Protection Act; the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998; the Ontario Water Resources Act; the Conservation Authorities Act; the Ontario Heritage Act; and the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002. An environmental assessment process may be applied to new infrastructure and modifications to existing infrastructure under applicable legislation.

4.9 Provincial plans shall take precedence over policies in this Provincial Policy Statement to the extent of any conflict. Examples of these are plans created under the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001.

4.10 The Province, in consultation with municipalities, other public bodies and stakeholders shall identify performance indicators for measuring the effectiveness of some or all of the policies. The Province shall monitor their implementation, including reviewing performance indicators concurrent with any review of this Provincial Policy Statement.

4.11 Municipalities are encouraged to establish performance indicators to monitor the implementation of the policies in their official plans.

5.0 Figure 1 (444 K)

6.0 Definitions

Access standards:

means methods or procedures to ensure safe vehicular and pedestrian movement, and access for the maintenance and repair of protection works, during times of flooding hazards, erosion hazards and/or other water-related hazards.
Adjacent lands: means



for the purposes of policy 2.1, those lands contiguous to a specific natural heritage feature or area where it is likely that development or site alteration would have a negative impact on the feature or area. The extent of the adjacent lands may be recommended by the Province or based on municipal approaches which achieve the same objectives; and


for the purposes of policy 2.6.3, those lands contiguous to a protected heritage property or as otherwise defined in the municipal official plan.
Adverse effects:

as defined in the Environmental Protection Act, means one or more of:



impairment of the quality of the natural environment for any use that can be made of it;


injury or damage to property or plant or animal life;


harm or material discomfort to any person;


an adverse effect on the health of any person;


impairment of the safety of any person;


rendering any property or plant or animal life unfit for human use;


loss of enjoyment of normal use of property; and


interference with normal conduct of business.