Updated September 2026
Which permits an excavation actually needs in the Cowichan Valley
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Excavation quote request
The more detail about the property and the work, the closer the first number will be. We send a written quote after we visit your site.
Duncan Excavating confirms which rules apply to your parcel before scheduling work, as several authorities govern digging across the Cowichan Valley. You need a North Cowichan soil permit above the lesser of 300 cubic metres per parcel or 60 m³ per acre, a 30 m riparian assessment along streams, and an ALC Notice of Intent 60 days ahead.
Whose rules apply depends on where a property sits, and in this valley that changes over short distances. A parcel two roads apart from another can answer to a different authority, with a different threshold and a different waiting period.
A permit means a local authority has approved your project to proceed. Filing a Notice of Intent to the Agricultural Land Commission starts a mandatory waiting period rather than asking for approval, and that clock dictates how a schedule is built for your site.
Read about our footings and foundation digging services.
Start with who governs the parcel, and who owns the road
These are two separate questions and they can have two different answers. The parcel determines the building permit authority and the soil rules. The road determines the access permit, and a driveway meeting a provincial highway is governed by the Province regardless of which municipality the house sits in. The applications are not interchangeable, so we confirm both before we build a schedule.
| Authority | What it administers | What is published |
|---|---|---|
| City of Duncan | Building permits, driveway access, work on city property, protected trees | A building permit, when required, must be issued before any work can take place. Driveway access permit $50 with a $1,000 damage deposit. |
| Municipality of North Cowichan | Building permits, soil removal and deposit, highway access | Soil Removal and Deposit Bylaw No. 3311 requires a permit to remove soil or deposit fill unless an exemption applies. |
| Cowichan Valley Regional District | Building permits in Electoral Areas A through I, soil deposit | Building Regulation Bylaw No. 4433 (2023). Soil Deposit Bylaw No. 4380, adopted 14 July 2021, in effect across all electoral areas. |
| Ministry of Transportation and Transit | Access onto provincial highways | A highway use permit is required to create or change access off a controlled access or numbered highway. |
| Agricultural Land Commission | Fill placement and soil removal in the ALR | Notice of Intent, $150, filed at least 60 days before the work. |
| WorkSafeBC | Excavation safety on every site, whichever authority issued the permit | OHS Regulation Part 20 applies province-wide. |
The exemptions worth knowing about
Several rules exempt more than people expect. You do not need a provincial permit for a new driveway serving a single-family home on a maintained side road outside town limits. That exemption applies as long as your entry does not connect directly to a numbered highway or controlled-access route. North Cowichan does not enforce a general tree protection bylaw, though DPA-3 and DPA-4 regulations still apply near streams and slopes. By contrast, the City of Duncan requires a permit before cutting any tree 30 centimetres or larger in diameter. North Cowichan's soil bylaw exempts parcels smaller than one hectare outright. And in the Agricultural Land Reserve, a structure for farm use or a principal residence affecting 1,000 square metres or less needs no Notice of Intent, nor do drainage and irrigation works up to 320 cubic metres per 16 hectares a year.
The rules that do not vary by address
WorkSafeBC's requirements apply on every site in the province regardless of which authority issued the permit, and they are the ones most likely to change what a job costs. Before excavating with powered equipment, the location of all underground utility services must be accurately determined. Any excavation deeper than 1.2 metres that a worker enters must be sloped, benched or shored. Excavated material stays 60 centimetres back from a trench edge and 1.2 metres from any other excavation. Past 6 metres, or where a structure sits adjacent, written instructions from a qualified registered professional are required.
| Rule | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation entered by a worker must be sloped, benched or shored | Deeper than 1.2 metres | OHS Regulation |
| Excavated material set back from the edge | 60 cm from a trench; 1.2 m from any other excavation | OHS Regulation |
| Written instructions from a qualified registered professional required | Deeper than 6 metres, or a structure adjacent to the dig | OHS Regulation |
| Riparian assessment area along a stream | 30 metres each side, from the stream boundary | Riparian Areas Protection Regulation |
| Riparian assessment area at a ravine | 30 metres beyond the top of bank if under 60 m wide; 10 metres if 60 m or wider | Riparian Areas Protection Regulation |
| Soil permit exemption outside the ALR | The lesser of 300 m³ per parcel or 60 m³ per acre, per calendar year | North Cowichan Bylaw No. 3311 |
| Soil permit security | $4,000, plus $4,000 for each hectare disturbed | North Cowichan Bylaw No. 3311 |
| Notice of Intent for fill or soil removal in the ALR | $150, at least 60 days ahead | Agricultural Land Commission |
| Driveway access setback from an intersection or stop sign | 7 metres | North Cowichan Highway Use Bylaw No. 2261 |
| Utility locate notice period | 3 working days, or 5 for large projects | BC 1 Call |
Bylaw numbers and figures are as published at the time of writing. Where a figure could not be confirmed from an authority's own current material we leave it out rather than estimate it.
Two bylaws we confirm by phone
The CVRD adopted Soil Deposit Bylaw No. 4380 on 14 July 2021, which applies throughout all electoral areas and uses separate Type A and Type B application forms. Because volume thresholds, exemptions and fees are not published in its document library, we confirm the details with the district before we quote your project. Whether a given volume of soil or fill needs a permit, and what the security deposit runs, comes from a call rather than the website. On volume work in the electoral areas we make that call ourselves, get the threshold and the fee in writing where we can, and confirm both before your budget and schedule are set.
What to have in hand before a machine arrives
- 01
Confirm the authority — Which municipality or electoral area the parcel sits in, and who owns the road the access meets. Everything else follows from these two answers.
- 02
File anything with a clock on it first — An Agricultural Land Commission Notice of Intent runs at least 60 days, and the review period does not start until the notice is acknowledged as complete.
- 03
Building permit and its attachments — In the CVRD electoral areas the application asks for a site plan by a BC Land Surveyor, a land title search within 30 days, and any riparian or geotechnical reports up front.
- 04
Locates last, because they expire — A BC 1 Call ticket requires excavation to begin within 14 calendar days of the request, and stays valid for 30 calendar days once work has begun.
Not sure which of these applies to your parcel? We'll settle the approvals question at the site visit — request a quote to get that started.