The following Aggregate Terms were taken from a report by the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines.
Aggregate – Sand, gravel, crushed stone and quarried rock used for construction purposes.
Aquifer – A layer of gravel, sand or porous, fractured rock containing saturated permeable material through which significant amounts of ground water can travel to wells and springs.
Berm – A constructed barrier of overburden, topsoil or waste rock, often planted with trees, shrubs and ground cover. Berms are used to block noise, dust and views of an aggregate operation from reaching adjacent properties.
Gravel – Unconsolidated materials that are made up of rock fragments 2 mm to 75 mm in diameter.
Ground Water – Water that passes through or stands underground in porous rocks and soils, in the zone of saturation, that is under a pressure equal to or greater than atmospheric pressure and supplies wells. The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection is responsible for regulating groundwater quality.
Load Out Facility – Site and equipment for loading gravel into trucks or rail cars, or onto barges.
No Net Loss principle – A working principle by which Fisheries and Oceans Canada strives to balance unavoidable habitat losses with habitat replacement on a project-by-project basis so that further reductions to Canada’s fisheries resources due to habitat loss or damage may be prevented.
Overburden – Material below topsoil and above saleable aggregate. Overburden is unconsolidated material between the soil layer (rooting zone) and the bedrock, excluding the economically valuable sand and gravel layers. Overburden is typically comprised of glacial till, and/or freshwater or marine sediments. Sand and gravel are often sandwiched between layers of overburden.
Pit – Any site where sand and/or gravel is extracted.
Pit Run – The native sand and gravel material that is extracted in a and processed into useable sizes.
Recycled aggregates – Reprocessing of waste concrete and asphalt pavements into useable aggregates.
Revegetation – The re-establishment of self-sustaining plant cover on a disturbed site.
Sand – Unconsolidated materials that are primarily composed of coarse, medium and fine mineral particles 4.76 mm (#4 sieve) to 0.074 mm (#200 sieve) in diameter.
Stakeholders – All individuals, agencies, bodies, companies, etc. with an interest in a given matter.
Topsoil – The upper-most soil layer that is commonly characterized by dark-coloured, organically-enriched materials.
Washing – Practice of cleaning aggregate with water to remove excessive amounts of fine particles.
Water quality – The chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water, normally with respect to its suitability for a particular purpose.
Water Table – The upper surface or elevation of the groundwater within the aquifer that is closest to the ground surface.
