Clean fill determination

Definition

Whether the soil leaving a site is a construction material or a regulated waste.

Why It Matters

Import and export of dirt is one of the largest single cost variances on a site job, and a characterization that comes back dirty turns free haul into tipping fees. Illinois puts the line in statute. Uncontaminated broken concrete without protruding bar, brick, rock and soil from construction or demolition are not waste if used as fill outside a setback zone, no higher than the ground beside it, and covered. Filling a quarry or mine with that debris from another site needs a permit, and the state's fill rules add an instrument check of every load and a three-year record of hauler, source site owner, origin, weight or volume and date. That record is the artifact to ask for.