b'REHABILITATIONRehabilitation101: A Primer WHAT IS REHABILITATION? REHABILITATING RehabilitationofapitorquarryistheprocessofPITS & QUARRIESrestoringthelandfromwhichaggregatehasbeen extracted to either its former use or to a new use orThe Provincial Standards of the ARA provide condition compatible with the surrounding landscape.minimumrehabilitationstandardsthatdealwiththe Aggregateextractionisaninterimlanduse.Onceestablishment of vegetation, importation of fill, grade of slopes and existing aggregate is extracted from a pit or quarry, the sitequarry faces. Site plans also must prescribe how a site is to be rehabilitated. isrehabilitatedintoproductivewildlifehabitat,Rehabilitation sequences are carefully planned during the preliminary licensing wetlands, golf courses, recreational parks, urban uses,process and become a legal requirement when the site is first licensed. conservation lands, forestry or agriculture.Rehabilitated slopes must be no steeper than 3:1 for pits or 2:1 for quarries. WHAT IS PROGRESSIVEAchieving these slopes will often require backfilling and proper planning so REHABILITATION? that there is enough extracted face left to achieve the desired slope. Rehabilitation of a pit or quarry involves the management of all of the Rehabilitationisnotcompletedsolelyatclosure.propertys natural resources during the aggregate extraction process. Topsoil, Under the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA), producersincludingtheseedsourcesthatitcontains,andoverburdenaremanaged are required to progressively rehabilitate their sites.carefully(i.e.,strippedandplacedseparatelyinamannerthatreflectsthe Progressive rehabilitation means rehabilitation is doneoriginal profile) throughout the life of the operation. Topsoil and overburden sequentially within a reasonable time after extractionare then sequentially replaced during rehabilitation to prevent erosion and ofaggregateresourcesiscomplete.Typically,this occursinphases:beforeproceedingtothenextallow for the planting of early successional plant species, followed by trees extractionphase,rehabilitationmustbecompletedandshrubs. intheareaswhereaggregatereserveshavebeen exhausted. Progressive rehabilitation is beneficial inPits and quarries below the water table will be rehabilitated differently than many ways as it minimizes the open areas within apits and quarries above the water table. The former will be predominantly pit or quarry, prevents soil erosion, reduces costs, andconverted to aquatic end uses (unless fill is imported), whereas the latter will eliminates double-handling of soil materials. have more rehabilitation opportunities for agriculture or upland forest habitatEXAMPLES OF AFTER USESThere are many excellent examples in Ontario of after uses. These include: Agriculture Golf coursesTender fruit production and grape Recreational parks vineyardsand lakes, trails andNaturalization and wildlife habitatconservation landsWetlands, floodplain habitat Forestrydevelopment Urban uses'