Fill, ponds, and soil in Haldimand

Who it's for

Haldimand is one county. The work on this page is for people on land in that county: a farm, a rural lot, a build, or a house.

• Caledonia
• Hagersville
• Cayuga
• Dunnville
• Jarvis
• Selkirk
• rural Haldimand

Landowners call about fill on their land or a pond. Contractors call with clay, gravel, sand, grindings, or stone to move, or with a job that needs fill. Homeowners call about brush, firewood, mulch, a driveway, or a small grade change. If the ground cannot take the job, we say so.

A nearby area we cover: North Dumfries (Ayr, Branchton, Roseville, and the rural township).

What applies in the county

These are the same offers as the rest of Soil Swap, named for this place. Each one links to the page that explains it.

• Clay, gravel, and sand

  Free fill pickup in Caledonia, or elsewhere in the county, means this: when clean clay, gravel, or sand is a good fit, we assess it, dig it, and haul it away at no cost to you. Contaminated soil, waste, and mixed debris are not a pickup.

• Pond digs

  Pond digging in Haldimand, when the soil is good: a farm or recreational pond for the cost of the work. Nothing is priced by Soil Swap on this page.

• Soil you need

  Clean fill in Dunnville, Cayuga, Hagersville, or on a farm lot, for a lane, a pad, or a build. What a load costs is said on the call.

• Soil that needs a home

  Builders with soil, grindings, or stone to move can match it to a local site that can take it, instead of treating disposal as the only option.

• Soil management

  We coordinate sampling and help with the O. Reg. 406/19 paperwork when that rule applies. A qualified person still signs what the regulation assigns to a qualified person.

• Firewood, brush, mulch, gravel, and grindings

  The same match covers organics, granular, grindings, and stone. Say whether you have the material or need it.

• Income from permitted fill

  A site alteration permit in Haldimand is the County's decision. On a job we take, landowners can be paid for clean fill placed under that permit. The amount is in a written agreement. No rate is posted here.

• Land that can take fill

  Open farm and rural land is the usual receiving site. Permit before loads. The County still decides.

A pond may still need a municipality or a conservation authority to say yes. We do not promise that permit. Questions already answered site-wide are on the FAQ.

Fill rules in Haldimand County

The County's By-law 1664-16 is the Site Alteration By-law. It was enacted on 2 May 2016. The County's directory lists amending By-law 2120-20 and By-law 2124-20, and a last date passed at Council of 22 January 2020. The County says that web text is a consolidation for information, not the signed original. The notes below follow that consolidation. They are not a permit, and they are not every section. Confirm the current rules and fees with the County before you move soil.

When a permit is needed

The 50 cubic metre line

Section 4 says no one may carry out a site alteration without a County permit. Section 11(a) says a permit is not required for a site alteration of less than 50 cubic metres of soil on a lot in any one-year period. The County's application page says to apply if the property receives more than 50 cubic metres of fill in a calendar year.

Over 50, and over 250

Fill of more than 50 cubic metres and not more than 250 cubic metres needs a road damage deposit set in the County's user fee by-law (section 13(c)). More than 250 cubic metres needs a site alteration agreement in the form of Schedule A (section 13(d)). That agreement form sets the security at $2,500 in cash. The County's application page states the same $2,500 security deposit. Those are County figures, not a Soil Swap price. Confirm the current amount before you apply.

Other limits in the by-law

Section 4 says a site alteration is not carried out on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a statutory holiday. Section 18 says the General Manager shall not issue more than one permit per calendar year for a given site. Fill has to meet the Ministry of the Environment standards for clean fill under the Environmental Protection Act (section 7). The applicant certifies that the fill contains no contaminants under that Act (section 14).

Exemptions

Besides the under-50-cubic-metre allowance, section 11 says a permit is not required for a site alteration that improves soil capability for agriculture on agricultural land as a normal agricultural practice; grading that is incidental to a building or demolition permit, including a driveway, parking lot, or assembly area accessory to that building; a septic system that already has a permit; and flood or erosion control to a finished grade on a plan approved by the conservation authority.

Section 10 says the by-law does not apply to the exemptions in the style of Municipal Act, 2001, section 142: municipal work; Planning Act site plan, subdivision, or consent conditions imposed after 31 December 2002; electricity transmission and distribution; land in a pit or quarry licence or permit under the Aggregate Resources Act; and drain construction under the Drainage Act or the Tile Drainage Act.

Where the fill comes from, and the haul

Section 4 says no one shall transport fill or topsoil to a site from outside Haldimand County. Section 13(k) says the General Manager may still approve that importation, site by site. An application for outside fill has to include each source address, what project is generating the fill, the volume, past uses of the source, a sampling and analysis plan with confirmation from a qualified person that the fill is suitable, a letter from the source-site owner, and the haul route, daily truck volume, and hours.

Every application includes a description of the fill and its source, the quantity, where it will sit, a site plan, the proposed haul route, and, where they apply, approvals from other agencies (section 13). As a permit condition, the General Manager may require records of each hauler's legal name and business name, the point of origin of each delivery, and the content of the material (section 19). The County may designate the haul route. The owner is responsible for seeing that it is used (sections 20 and 21).

Conservation authorities, and excess soil

Section 3 says the by-law applies to site alterations in the County unless a conservation authority has a regulation under section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act that applies to the site. Section 13(h) says an application includes, where applicable, copies of approvals from other agencies, including the Grand River Conservation Authority, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, and the Long Point Region Conservation Authority. The definitions section of the same consolidation names the Grand Erie Conservation Authority, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, or the Long Point Region Conservation Authority. Confirm which authority covers the land before you rely on either name.

The County's site alteration page says the work is also regulated by the Ministry of the Environment's On-Site and Excess Soil Management regulation, O. Reg. 406/19. A county permit does not replace that regulation. On a job we take, we help sort out the county permit and that paperwork. The County still makes the permit decision.

The County's Haldimand County site alteration page says to send the application to the Building Division at sitealteration@haldimandcounty.ca, or to take it to the second floor of the administration office at 53 Thorburn Street South, Cayuga. The Building Division phone on that page is 905-318-5932, extension 8300.

This is general information so you know what to ask about. It is not legal, engineering, or environmental advice. Whether a rule applies depends on the material, the site, and the volume. If this page and the official text differ, the official text wins.

Start with a call or a text

Say where the land is, whether you have soil or need it, and roughly how much. There is no form.