Record of Site Condition (RSC)


for rezoning and permits

Record of Site Condition


Record of Site Condition (RSC) is a filing process with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), based on Ontario Regulations (O.Reg.) 153/04 and its associated regulations, which confirms that a specific property has no soil or groundwater contaminations exceeding the allowable levels that were set by the MECP. The levels vary depending on the sensitivity of use of the property; agricultural and residential are most sensitive and require more strict limits, while commercial or industrial are considered as less and therefore more tolerance is allowed.

Filing a Record of Site Condition for a property is required in a few instances, such as when a zoning of a property from a less sensitive use into a more sensitive (e.g., from commercial or industrial use into residential). In addition, many municipalities require the filing the Record of Site Condition as a condition for building permit, or specific uses, such as operating a daycare in a commercial or industrial building.

The filing process has a few proceeding stages. The first stage is a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 1 ESA), which is required to evaluate current and past potential contaminating activities, if any, from on-site and off-site sources, which may have impacted the subject property. Based on the findings the Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), a subsequence Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 2 ESA) in order to validate by on-site testing of the soil and groundwater, if potential issues that were identified in the Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment, have actuality impacted the subject property. It should be noted that both, the Phase 1 and 2 Environmental Site Assessments should be carried out by a Qualified Person (e.g., a licensed Professional Engineer (P. Eng.) or a Professional Geoscientist (P. Geo.), and should be based on the Ontario Regulations (O. Reg.) 153/04 its associated amending regulations.

Filing the Record of Site Condition is possible if no issues were identified in the Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 1 ESA), or if the results of the Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 2 ESA) show that there were no exceedances in contamination parameters beyond the allowable limits for the intendent use of the property. In case there are such exceedances however, the filing is still possible if a Risk Assessment proceeds shows that there is no major concern to the environment because of these exceedances.

Filing a Record of Site Condition in Ontario is a long process, which typical takes many mounts. The Record of Site Condition then becomes a public record, which can be accessible to the public on the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).

The process of the Record of Site Condition includes the following items:

  • The Record of Site Condition is conducted by a Qualified Person (e.g. a P.Eng. or P. Geo.);
  • The environmental site condition is based on one or more prior environmental site assessments, prepared by a Qualified Person;
  • Additional assessments such as Environmental Risk Assessment or development of specific standards for the property is sometimes required; and,
  • The condition of the site must meet the applicable condition standards for the new use of the property, or to meet the standards specified in an Environmental Risk Assessment.

The Record of Site Condition is typically required if the use of the property is being changed to a new and more sensitive use than the previous (e.g., from an auto repair garage, a gasoline service station or a drycleaner into residential use). These properties may also include vacant or abandoned properties that were previously used for commercial or industrial activities such as factories, gasoline service stations, and waterfront properties; these properties are also known as brownfield properties.

In these cases, filing the Record of Site Condition in the Environmental Site Registry is required before the new use of the property is permitted. The filing may also reduce the liability of the property owner.


Records of Site Condition

Records of Site Condition

Records of Site Condition

Records of Site Condition

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