An Abbotsford composter has now been handed a fine of $9,000 after receiving more than triple the amount of waste that the facility was approved to handle.
In a recently released decision from the Ministry of Environment and Parks, Environmental Management Act director Stephanie Little explained that this penalty was the result of overcapacity issues at Fraser Valley Agri Waste Solutions Ltd. that occurred from April 1, 2023, to May 15, 2024.
According to the final report, the Abbotsford facility is approved to handle up to 8,000 tonnes of wet waste, which would allow it to produce as much as 1,500 tonnes of dry finished compost.
However, during this one-year time period, FVAWS received 25,637 tonnes of organic waste, which it did without the proper authorization.
"FVAWS exceeded its design capacity by up to 220 per cent and has not proposed any changes to its design capacity to the ministry," Little said.
The company pushed back against the fact that it received more than triple its limit of waste, instead claiming that the scale weights reported were misleading due to the close connection with Fraser Valley Renewables.
"The scale used at the entrance to the facility weighs both FVAW Solutions鈥� waste receipts as well as Fraser Valley Renewables Ltd.鈥檚 waste receipts," FVAWS explained. "The total weight recorded in the inspections is therefore not an accurate reflection of the waste received by FVAW Solutions."
Little responded to this argument by saying that she wasn't fully convinced by this reasoning, particularly due to a lack of evidence to back up the claims of the composting facility.
"While it asserts that some incoming material was diverted to a separate operation (Fraser Valley Renewables Ltd.), it offers no operational details, no weight records, and no breakdown of diverted versus composted volumes," Little said.
"This omission is particularly significant given that the company鈥檚 own records, provided during inspection, documented 25,637 tonnes of feedstock 鈥� over three times the 8,000-tonne annual design capacity. To remain compliant, more than 17,600 tonnes would have needed to be diverted, a scale of activity that would reasonably be expected to have been documented and disclosed during inspection."
Fraser Valley Agri Waste Solutions in , received a $9,000 administrative penalty for taking 17,637 tonnes more organics than their compost facility was designed to take which was a non-compliance with the Organic Matter Recycling Regulation.
鈥� Environmental Compliance BC (@ComplianceBC)
Another major issue that contributed to the sizable fine was the state of the liquid that was collected at the Abbotsford site during an inspection on May 16, 2024.
"Seepage consistent with compost leachate was observed entering an adjacent agricultural field," Little said.
"The facility is located approximately 1 km from McLennan Creek, a fish-bearing watercourse, and is bordered by drainage ditches that flow into the creek. The proximity of this sensitive aquatic environment heightens the potential for environmental harm."
However, FVAWS once again pushed back against this claim, taking issue with the fact that the liquid was described as effluent, meaning that it travels from the facility to a nearby water source.
"There was so little fluid collected, the inspector had to use a syringe to gather any fluid at all," FVAWS said in its response. "The fluid collected is described as effluent in the notice. There is no finding that the fluid collected meets the requirement of an effluent."
When analyzing the liquid sample, the Ministry of Environment and Parks found that it "measured ammonia levels of 2890 mg/L, biochemical oxygen demand of 33,300 mg/L, and coliforms of 300 CFU/100 mL."
Little clarified that such consequences of ignoring operational requirements can "create a risk of harm to the environment or human health and safety."
The original notice proposed a hefty $72,000 fine for these actions, which was largely due to the assumption that the Abbotsford facility was profiting from processing such a large amount of waste.
FVAWS strongly opposed this assertion, providing a letter from a local business that backed up the claim that the facility does not charge money for any materials it gives to other groups.
"FVAW Solutions does not sell its soil amendment. Its operations plan provides for this possibility, but FVAW Solutions have not done so because providing the product free of charge moves product off the site faster," the company clarified.
"If the product were to remain on site, it would increase costs and regulatory burden. FVAW Solutions have also determined that it is also not profitable to sell the products after soil additions are added."
What helped lower the base fine for this infraction was that FVAWS was shown to have taken several steps to both avoid harm caused by this excess waste and prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.
The company said that it has:
鈥� Changed its operating procedures to include daily sweeping with a mechanical sweeper to prevent further contact water from accumulating on site
鈥� Spent $656,236.17 between May 1, 2022, and July 4, 2024, to improve the lagoons and water management and control to ensure regulatory compliance
鈥� Significantly reduced throughput, reportedly by 70 per cent, to bring operations within approved limits
鈥� Removed approximately 4,000 tonnes of stockpiled material from the site
鈥� Reallocated odorous materials to other facilities to reduce on-site volumes
With all of these considerations in mind, Little determined that a $9,000 fine was suitable, with the Abbotsford composter having 30 days to pay this penalty.
