02/04/2026
THIS IS A CANADIAN PAPER DISCUSSING THE VARIOUS WAYS OF TREATING CONTAMINATED SOILS: if we knew who the principals were, we might have a chance to get more specifics.
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THIS IS A DESCRIPTION OF A SIMILAR PROCESS AT A PLANT IN CANADA: IT GIVES A LOT OF DETAILS THAT MAY BE SIMILAR TO THE PROPOSAL ON HAND FOR KILLOCH. IT IS A LONG READ BUT MAY ANSWER SOME OF THE TOP LEVEL QUESTIONS. Operation turning polluted dirt into reusable soil through bioremediation
'We're reducing our waste down to, like, 10 per cent,' says president of Essential Soil Solutions
Danielle Pitman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Mar 14, 2026 7:00 AM
In the distance, a consultant collects a sample of the soil treated by Essential Soil Solutions in Ramara through a process called bioremediation.
A truck exits the Essential Soil Solutions bioremediation facility.
Napoleon Calabrese sits in the control seat where trucks are weighed in and out of the Essential Soil Solutions bioremediation facility in Ramara.
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1 / 7 In the distance, a consultant collects a sample of the soil treated by Essential Soil Solutions in Ramara through a process called bioremediation.Danielle Pitman, Local Journalism Initiative ReporterExpand
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What is bioremediation? The science may be complex, but it presents an environmental, cyclical concept.
Bioremediation is a process of introducing microorganisms to environmental pollutants. In theory, it is a sustainable practice that restores soil and water quality.
To understand how it is applied, OrilliaMatters, an affiliate of BradfordToday and InnisfilToday, asked Matthew Cinelli, president of Essential Soil Solutions (ESS), which operates the NRK Holdings quarry, to learn how his facilities in Ramara implement this process.
The property on Concession Road B-C is the largest bioremediation site in Ontario. It handles soil contaminated with hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, or pH imbalances. Examples are dirt swept from salted roads, or debris from gas stations and industrial developments.
One side of the 1,000-acre property receives truckloads from all over the province.
“This is the heart of the operation,” Cinelli says from a small trailer at the entrance of the site.
Computer screens show footage from the 13 cameras across the property. There is a backup generator, ensuring six hours of operation if there is a power failure.
Trucks pull up to the window, are weighed in and directed to designated windrows.
The NRK site began operating in 2021. In the decade or more it took to establish the site, a geosynthetic liner and sub-drain network was designed to contain the contamination within an 11-acre pad.
“It’s a closed loop system, so nothing makes it to the environment,” Cinelli says, pointing to the rows of soil.
The sub-drain network catches water before it seeps into the ground. There are also markers along the perimeter that immediately notify employees of a breach.
The soil is tracked from the moment it enters the site and is not moved until tested, he explains.
The formula used by ESS is a custom recipe for the types of soil it treats.
Essentially, the liquid harbours the organism that eats the pollution. It comes in a powder form and in a pre-packaged quantity that gets mixed in a 1,000-litre tank. The tank sits at the back of a truck as the soil is sprayed.
As pioneers in the industry, Cinelli says the team is always looking for ways to be better. A larger tank to spray will make the process more efficient and easier on the team, he says.
Once treated, the soil must be tested. A third-party consultant collects samples to ensure it is safe.
“This soil sits here and does not move until we get the go-ahead from our consultant and the lab says, ‘Yes, it’s treated,’” says Cinelli.
Once the soil is tested and deemed safe to use, it is loaded and redesignated to another location on the property.
The treated soil is often used to fill in exhausted quarry land or create berms that dampen noise and dust impact in the surrounding area.
The dark side of industrial operations like pits and quarries is often highlighted by environmental advocates.
Cinelli, with lifelong experience in construction, saw a gap in the industry and wanted to do something different.
“What happens in this industry is the soil comes from a site and it gets thrown in a hole,” he says.
The alternative to bioremediation is not cyclical. Contaminated soil would otherwise go to a transfer station and remain untreated.
“It doesn’t get treated. It just sits there and gets offloaded and reloaded. No one actually knows where that material goes,” explains Cinelli.
ESS tracks the soil it treats closely, using a digital system designed specifically for its purposes.
“At any given point, even with our software, I can tell you where the soil came from, I can tell you when it was treated, and I can tell you if it passed,” he explains.
He receives an analytic report before accepting any soil. Not all is treatable through bioremediation. If ESS cannot accept the product, it most likely goes to a landfill or a mine.
There is a demand for all forms of limestone. NRK has a stock of armour stone or aggregate for uses like building roads or shore walls.
But what of the land that gets torn up and desolated? And what of the waste products full of pollutants?
The government requires pits and quarries to take responsibility for rejuvenating the land they destroy. Yet, as Cinelli points out, there is no strict timeline they must do it in.
The ESS and NRK sites work hand in hand in an attempt to improve the environmental impacts of the industry.
Bioremediation is cyclical. Without it, the contaminated soil would likely be buried and forgotten. In this case, it would affect groundwater quality and the land farmers grow their crops in.
The two ponds are another example of a more environmentally savvy cycle implemented by ESS.
One is a dirty-water pond. Built within the 11-acre containment area, it is full of contaminants of concern. That water goes through a five-stage filtration system and is tested monthly. The water that comes out of this system is also tested.
“It comes out clean. It’s table two potable water. We use it for dust control, to reintroduce back in the system, to spray our microbes, and it’s a clear circular system,” says Cinelli.
Eventually, there will be a sludge built up in this process, he notes. It will take longer than the five years the site has been operating. But if treatable, it also gets reintroduced into the cycle.
“We’re reducing our waste down to, like, 10 per cent,” he says.
By treating the contamination and then repurposing the soil, Cinelli’s operations aim to rejuvenate one area, exhausted of its rocky resources, with healthy soil and native species of trees before expanding to the next.
ESS has applied for expansions to both its soil and quarry operations.
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