Exceptions to subsections 7 (1.1) and 34 (1.1) of the Act
 7.8 (1) For the purposes of subsection 7 (1.1) of the Act, a person who meets the qualifications set out in subsection (2) may operate a pit described in subsections (3) and (4) in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in subsections (5) to (10). O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (2) A person may operate a pit under this section if the person is, (a) an individual who is the registered owner of the land on which the pit is located and is operating the pit to produce aggregate exclusively for his or her own use; or (b) a farming business within the meaning of the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act, 1993 that, (i) is the registered owner of the land on which the pit is located, or (ii) has the express written consent of the registered owner of the land to operate the pit. O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (3) No part of a pit operated under this section shall be located, (a) within a Wellhead Protection Area-A or Wellhead Protection Area-B identified in accordance with the rules made under section 107 of the Clean Water Act, 2006; (b) in an area in which development is prohibited or regulated by a regulation under the Conservation Authorities Act, unless written approval is obtained from the conservation authority prohibiting or regulating development in the area; (c) on a property or a site upon which another pit is currently registered or on a site upon which another pit has previously been registered with the Minister in accordance with subsection (5); (d) within 15 metres of any plugged well or 30 metres of any unplugged well that is subject to the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act; (e) within 30 metres of, (i) any boundary of the property on which the pit is located, (ii) any lake, pond, river, stream or spring, or (iii) any septic system or water well; or (f) within 90 metres of, (i) any boundary of the property which abuts land that is zoned to allow for residential use, or (ii) any sensitive receptor. O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (4) In the case of a pit operated by a farming business under this section, the property on which the pit is located must be used for farm purposes while the pit is in operation. O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (5) A person described in subsection (2) who wishes to operate a pit under this section shall, before beginning operations, register the pit with the Minister on the form titled “Registration of Activities under the Aggregate Resources Act Form”, dated August 2020, that is available on the website of the Government of Ontario Central Forms Repository, and send a copy of the registration to, (a) the clerk of the local municipality in which the pit is located; and (b) if the pit is also located within an upper-tier municipality, the clerk of that municipality. O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (6) The operator of a pit under this section shall operate the pit for no more than three years after the date the pit is registered with the Minister under subsection (5). O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (7) The individual or farming business that operates a pit under this section shall ensure that the pit is operated in accordance with the following rules: 1. No blasting, crushing, screening or washing of aggregate shall be carried out on the site. 2. The total amount of aggregate excavated at the pit shall not exceed the following amount during the time the pit is being operated: i. 300 cubic metres, in the case of a pit operated by an individual, and ii. 3,000 cubic metres, in the case of a pit operated by a farming business. 3. In the case of a pit operated by an individual, the surface area excavated for the pit shall be no more than 0.5 hectares. 4. The working face of the pit shall, i. be sloped at the angle of repose, or ii. have a vertical height of no more than 1.5 metres above the maximum reach of any equipment used as part of the excavation. 5. No aggregate excavated at the pit shall be, i. removed from the property on which the pit is located unless it is moved to, A. in the case of a pit operated by an individual, another property owned by the same individual and that is an adjoining property or is separated from the property on which it is currently located only by a highway, or B. in the case of a pit operated by a farming business, another property owned or leased by the same farming business, or ii. sold or traded to a third party by the operator or on the operator’s behalf. 6. No sediment resulting from the excavation of the pit shall be permitted to enter a lake, pond, river, stream, spring or wetland. 7. All excavations shall remain above the groundwater table. 8. Despite paragraph 7, if any excavation reaches the groundwater table, the following rules apply: i. All excavation must immediately stop. ii. The pit must be filled with material previously excavated from the pit to at least 1.5 metres above the groundwater table. iii. All further excavations must occur at least 1.5 metres above the groundwater table. O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (8) Within four years after the date the pit is registered under subsection (5), the operator of the pit shall ensure that the site of the pit is rehabilitated in accordance with one of the following criteria: 1. The site of the pit is restored to the land use which occurred on the site immediately prior to the operation of the pit. 2. All excavation faces are sloped to three horizontal metres for every vertical metre or flatter, and vegetation is established at the site. O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (9) The operator of the pit shall keep the following records during the operation of the pit and for a period of seven years after the date on which rehabilitation of the pit is completed under subsection (8): 1. Copies of all the materials that were registered with the Minister under subsection (5). 2. Documentation demonstrating that all of the requirements of this section have been satisfied. 3. Detailed records of the quantity and type of material removed from the pit. O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (10) The operator of the pit shall ensure that the records referred to in subsection (9) are produced for an inspector upon request. O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10. (11) For greater certainty, for the purposes of section 66 of the Act, this section does not deal with the same subject matter as a municipal by-law respecting any aspect of the operation of the pit. O. Reg. 466/20, s. 10.