Fill removal and pond digs in Milton

Who it's for

This page is for contractors and homeowners in the Town of Milton who have extra clay, sand, gravel, or soil that needs a legal home, and for a landowner who wants a pond dug. It is not a page about getting paid to receive fill. Vasq Ltd. is based in Guelph and brings its own trucks and crew.

What Soil Swap can do in Milton

• Haul good material out

  When clean clay, gravel, or sand is a good fit, Vasq Ltd. can assess it, dig it, and haul it away at no cost to you. The trucks and crew are Vasq's. Contaminated soil, waste, and mixed debris are not a pickup. The load goes to a site that is allowed to take it, not onto a Milton lot that is charging for the privilege.

• Pond digs, with a Town permit

  When the soil is good, a farm or recreational pond can be dug for the cost of the work. In Milton that still needs a site alteration permit unless a listed exemption applies. Nothing is priced by Soil Swap on this page.

• A legal home for extra soil

  A Milton job with extra clay, sand, gravel, or soil can be matched to a site outside town that is allowed to receive it. Disposal is not the only option when the material and the rules fit.

• O. Reg. 406/19 and load records

  Section 2.7 says hauling and depositing fill must follow O. Reg. 406/19. We help with that paperwork and with the load record the by-law requires. A qualified person still signs what the regulation assigns to a qualified person.

• Grindings, stone, and organics

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

• Soil you need

  If a Milton project needs clean fill brought in, that is still a site alteration unless an exemption applies. What a load costs is said on the call.

Landowners cannot be paid to take fill

Section 2.18 of By-law 094-2022 says no person may charge or receive a fee for allowing fill to be placed or deposited on a property, unless that property is zoned for a commercial landfill or waste disposal site and is operating under a valid approval issued under the Environmental Protection Act. Soil Swap does not offer paid fill placement in Milton.

If the land is in another township, and that township's own rules allow a permitted receiving site, the placement pages are here. A site still has to qualify. These links are not a promise of income.

• Haldimand
• Kawartha Lakes
• North Dumfries
• Centre Wellington
• Springwater
• Cramahe

Fill rules in Milton

The Town's By-law 094-2022 is A by-law to prohibit and regulate the placing, depositing, cutting or removal of fill or the altering of grades or drainage on any lands. It came into force on 1 January 2023 and repealed By-law 33-2004. The notes below are a plain reading of that by-law and the Town's Town of Milton site alteration permit page. They are not a permit, and they are not every section. Confirm the current rules and fees with the Town before you move soil.

A permit is the rule

Section 2.1 says the by-law applies to the entire Town, including land regulated under section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act. The by-law names the Halton Region Conservation Authority and the Grand River Conservation Authority. Section 2.3 says no one may undertake a site alteration, including on land under a watercourse or other body of water, without a permit from the Director, unless the by-law says a permit is not required. Site alteration, in section 1.46, means depositing, cutting, or removing fill, or levelling or compacting it, including a change in ground elevation of 25 mm from those activities.

Section 2.7 says no one may transport, haul, or deposit fill contrary to O. Reg. 406/19. Section 2.9 says no one may remove topsoil for sale or exchange without a permit. Section 2.10 says no site alteration during an Environment Canada wind warning, during a Ministry of the Environment smog advisory once the Director has confirmed that advisory in writing to the permit holder, or within 24 hours of 15 mm or more of precipitation in a 24-hour period.

Section 4.1 says an applicant arranges a pre-consultation with the Director, who is the Director of Development Engineering or the Director of Infrastructure, and any other people the Director asks for. The Director may waive that meeting. The Town's permit page says applications are subject to the User Fees By-law, and lists a current application fee of $2,783 and an inspection fee of $397 per hectare, with a minimum charge of one hectare. Confirm those figures with the Town. They are Town fees, not a Soil Swap price. The Site alteration permit application is on the Town site.

Load records

Section 2.13 says every person who hauls fill to or from a lot in Milton keeps this record in the vehicle. Section 2.14 says the owner of a Milton lot that receives fill keeps the same record.

• Where the fill was loaded.
• The date and time it was loaded.
• The quantity in the load.
• The name of a person who can answer questions about the load, including soil quality.
• The name of the company hauling the fill, and the driver's name.
• Where the fill is going.
• If the destination is in Milton: the owner's written authorization to deposit the fill, written confirmation that the owner knows the source address, and written confirmation of a permit or the exact exemption section.

Small rural exemptions

Section 3.4 is for lots in the Rural Area. A permit is not required for topsoil placed or removed for lawns, landscaping, or flower and vegetable gardens only when the grade does not rise more than 0.15 m, drainage to or from neighbours does not change in a significant way, the work stays at least 0.6 m from a lot line, and the total under the exemptions does not exceed the lesser of 20 cubic metres or 2 triaxle loads in any four months. Driveway, road, and parking maintenance with asphalt or granular material, including recycled aggregate, asphalt, or concrete, is exempt only when the old grade and the old size are put back, and the total does not exceed the lesser of 20 cubic metres or 2 triaxle loads in any 12 months.

Urban residential lots have a smaller topsoil and driveway allowance in section 3.6: the lesser of 5 cubic metres or half a triaxle load, on the same grade and lot-line limits. Section 3.8 says none of these exemptions may block a ditch, swale, or catch basin, send water off the lot, or use fill that is not clean. Section 3.9 says a person using an exemption keeps proof, including the source, composition, and volume of fill, and shows it when the Director asks.

The Town does enforce this

In Milton (Town) v. Sidhu, 2026 ONCJ 178, two people were convicted under section 2.3 for importing gravel onto a residential lot and grading it without a site alteration permit. Each was fined $7,500 and ordered to remediate the property.

To ask the Town whether a permit is required, the permit page lists Planning and Development Services at 905-878-7252, extension 2398. To report work without a permit, the same page lists 905-878-7252, extension 2137.

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.

Questions about Milton

Start with a call or a text

Say where the soil is, what it is, and roughly how much. There is no form.