Fill, ponds, and soil in Springwater

Who it's for

Springwater is one township, north and west of Barrie. The work on this page is for people on land in that township: a farm, a rural lot, a build, or a house.

• Elmvale
• Midhurst
• Minesing
• Anten Mills
• Phelpston
• Hillsdale
• rural Springwater

Landowners and farmers are the usual receiving sites. Builders are usually the ones with soil, granular, or other material to move, or with a project that needs clean fill. Homeowners call about a driveway, a garden, a small grade change, or a pond. If the ground cannot take the job, we say so.

Other areas we cover: Centre Wellington (Fergus, Elora, and the rural township) and North Dumfries (Ayr, Branchton, Roseville, and the rural township).

What applies in the township

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 Elmvale, or elsewhere in the township, 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 Springwater, when the soil is good: a farm or recreational pond for the cost of the work. Nothing is priced on this page.

• Soil you need

  Clean fill in Midhurst, Minesing, Elmvale, 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 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, and grindings. Say whether you have the material or need it.

• Income from permitted fill

  A fill permit in Springwater is the Township'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 Township 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 Springwater

The Township's By-law 2022-105 is the Fill and Site Alteration By-law. It repealed By-law 2018-006. It applies to lands in the Township, except where section 4 says it does not. The notes below are a plain reading of the signed by-law. They are not a permit, and they are not every section. Confirm the current rules and fees with the Township before you move soil.

When a permit is needed

Two permits

Placing or dumping fill needs a Fill Permit (section 3.2). A site alteration, which the by-law defines as dumping, grading, removing, moving, or excavating fill and soil, needs a Site Alteration Permit (sections 3.6 and 1.1). Section 5.3 names those as the two permits.

What the by-law refuses

Deleterious material may not be placed or dumped (section 3.5). Fill may not be imported with a hydro-excavation truck (section 3.8). Reclaimed fill may not be used (section 3.9). A swale, ditch, drainage course, or watercourse may not be altered, fouled, or blocked (section 3.10).

Hours

Work allowed under the by-law is limited to 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday to Friday (section 6.2).

Small landscaping, and the Municipal Act exemptions

Lawn dressing, landscaping, flower beds, and vegetable gardens are outside the by-law only when every one of these is true (section 4.1(b)):

• The ground elevation is not increased by more than 200 millimetres (20 cm).
• The elevation within 60 centimetres of any property line is not changed.
• The location, direction, and elevation of any natural or artificial watercourse, drainage course, swale, or ditch used to drain land do not change.
• No more than 300 cubic metres of fill in total is imported in that year.

Section 4.1(a) also adopts the exemptions in Municipal Act, 2001, section 142, subsections 142(5) and 142(6). The by-law repeats several of those in its own section 4. They include work by the Township, the County of Simcoe, a conservation authority, or the provincial or federal government for utilities, roads, and similar services; conditions of a Planning Act site plan, subdivision, or consent; electricity transmission and distribution; land in a pit or quarry licence or permit under the Aggregate Resources Act; drain construction; and removal of topsoil as an incidental part of a normal farm practice, including sod-farming, greenhouses, and nurseries. Topsoil taken for sale is not that farm exemption. Section 4 lists other exemptions, including some building-permit work close to the building. Read the by-law for the exact wording.

The by-law says it does not apply to land in an area regulated under section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act (section 4.1(c)). The by-law names the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority. A township application still has to include written confirmation from that Authority that the work is not on land regulated under section 28 (section 5.4(w)). The Director may also require that Authority's approval of siltation and erosion control (section 6.1(j)). Ask the Authority about its own permit. This page does not restate it.

What an application has to show

The owner fills out the Township's form and pays the fee in Schedule A (section 5.1). The Director requires the owner and operator details, the address, a description of the work and the volume, the end use, the owner's authorization, the official plan designation and zoning, and the conservation authority confirmation above (section 5.4).

Section 5.5 says the Director may also require a survey plan. The drawing changes with the volume:

• Placing or dumping fill

  Less than 10,000 cubic metres: existing spot elevations on a 3 metre grid on the land and a 6 metre grid beyond the property lines. More than 10,000 cubic metres: a topographic survey at 1 metre contours, certified by an engineer or surveyor, covering the land and 30 metres onto abutting land.

• Site alteration

  Less than 5,000 cubic metres: plan and profile drawings, including slopes, drainage, tree lines, buildings, and stockpiles, on the land and within 30 metres on abutting land. From 5,000 to 10,000 cubic metres: existing spot elevations on a 3 metre grid on the land and a 6 metre grid beyond the property lines. More than 10,000 cubic metres: the same kind of certified 1 metre topographic survey, out to 30 metres on abutting land.

More than 10,000 cubic metres of fill, or a site alteration greater than 10,000 cubic metres, also means an agreement with the Township (section 6.4). That agreement covers a qualified person, reporting, and security, among other terms in the by-law.

Hauler records

As a permit condition, the Director may require the owner or operator to keep these records and show them on request (section 6.1(o)):

• The legal name and business name of each hauler.
• The commercial vehicle registration number, and the motor vehicle permit number, of each hauler.
• The date, time, and volume of each delivery.
• The material in each delivery, and the point of origin, with verification.

Fees, and the provincial soil rule

Schedule A of By-law 2022-105 is where the by-law puts the fee. The signed by-law posted by the Township does not include a dollar table. The Township's Consolidated fees and charges by-law lists a cut and fill permit that steps up by volume, and an engineering site inspection charge. Those amounts change. If work starts before a permit is issued, section 5.2 doubles the application fee otherwise set in the by-law and adds the Schedule A inspection fee for each inspection. Section 6.1(t) can also require payment of the Township's peer-review and compliance costs, plus a 15 percent administration fee. Confirm the current fee with the Township. This page does not quote a dollar amount.

A township permit does not replace O. Reg. 406/19. Section 3.12 says fill and site alteration still have to comply with that regulation, whether or not the Township has issued a permit. Section 6.5 repeats that duty. On a job we take, we help sort out the township permit and that paperwork. The Township still makes the permit decision.

The Township's Township applications, licences, and permits page says to submit the fee and the application to Public Works. General inquiries are 705-728-4784. Roads and Infrastructure, listed with Public Works, is the same number at extension 2012. The by-law list is on the Township of Springwater by-laws and enforcement page.

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.