Non-compliance with certain provisions of the Environmental Management Act could lead to penalties for an Abbotsford facility which transforms organic waste into soil.
Chase Edgelow (CEO of EverGen Infrastructure Corp.), which owns Net Zero Waste Abbotsford, NZWA), stated that the company is working to resolve any issues with B.C. Ministry of Environmental and Climate Change and they will appeal any penalties.
He said the company, which took over the facility at the beginning of 2021, is also upgrading and expanding its infrastructure – at a cost of more than $30 million over the next year – “for the betterment of local communities.”
NZWA was founded in 2012 at 5050 Gladwin Rd. To transform organic waste into soil for sale to landscapers, organic farms, and the general public.
Among the items the facility accepts are food waste, yard waste, unprocessed/untreated wood, plant matter, poultry carcasses and red-meat waste.
FortisBC will receive renewable natural gas from the site by early 2023, following a 20 year agreement that was signed last fall.
Edgelow said most of the non-compliance issues listed in the latest inspection report – dated Feb. 7, 2022 – from the ministry’s environmental protection division are related to the catastrophic flooding that occurred in the area last November.
Edgelow indicated that there are other issues that date back to 2017, but they occurred before EverGen took charge in early 2021.
According to the latest report, environment officers collected water samples from the site and determined that discharges exceeded permissible levels of certain effluents such as E. Coli, fecalcoliforms, and chloride.
The permit limit for fecal coliforms, for example, is 1,000 CFU (colony-forming unit) per 100 ml, but NZWA’s levels were at 68,400 CFU on Nov. 5, 1.3 million on Nov. 30, 205,000 on Dec. 15 and 172,00 on Jan. 20.
E. Coli levels must also be at least 1,000 CFU per 100ml. However, they measured 39.500 CFU on Nov. 5, 308,000 on Dec. 15, and 83.900 on Jan. 20 according to the report.
NZWA also stated to ministry staff that high levels in November were due in part to the facility being submerged by floodwaters, which prevented it from operating normally.
Ministry staff were told that NZWA “had to pump and dispose of leachate several times to manage the waste following the flood, resulting in unauthorized discharges,” the report states.
NZWA must, however, submit a written statement to the ministry within 30 working days of the application.
“Since no written report was provided to the director for the unauthorized discharge, Net Zero is out of compliance with this section,” the report states.
Another issue listed in the inspection report is that Net Zero’s permit allows it to accept chickens, ducks and hogs, but following the floods in November, it also took in minks.
After multiple sites tested positive to COVID-19, the province imposed a moratorium for new mink farms in July 2021.
Edgelow said Net Zero was asked by the Ministry of Agriculture to help with “flood-related matters,” and the fines that are being recommended (no dollar value was listed in the documents) are minor in nature.
“These were penalties that were assessed during a flood-related event, and I think the easiest way to describe it is it’s like getting a parking ticket when you’re pulled over and double-parked in an emergency,” he said.
Edgelow said planned equipment and infrastructure upgrades at the facility will prepare Net Zero to “handle and process waste to the highest value and use that benefits our communities.”
“When (EverGen) acquired the facility, we really came in with the mindset of putting in world-class facilities that can really improve the way that organic waste is managed,” he said.
“Ultimately, the whole premise behind people sorting their organic waste is that it’s going to a better place than a landfill. I think the reality is that a lot of the waste in Metro Vancouver is still going to facilities that don’t capture the energy from that waste.”
The inspection record has been referred to an administrative penalty. This can be as high at $10,000.
Net Zero Waste’s Eastgate facility near Princeton received a warning letter from the ministry earlier this year, alleging there were several non-compliance issues, including in relation to pig carcasses processed there after the flooding.
The company claimed that the report contained inaccuracies and Net Zero Waste would respond to these claims.
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Environment