B.C.’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has fined the City of Prince Rupert a heavy $165,460 because three of its waste disposal sites do not meet the ministry’s quality standards.
The city holds permits from the province to operate landfills. Currently, the Wantage Road Landfill, the Prince Rupert Landfill, and the Sewer Outfalls are not compliant with regulations.
“We’ve got sort of a menu of things that we’re being penalized for,” said Coun. Nick Adey in the Jan.13 city council meeting.
Prince Rupert Landfill
The Prince Rupert Landfill, located eight kilometres from town on Ridley Island Road was fined $121,000.
It has been in operation since 1991 and is expected to keep running for at least another 50 years.
Recently, the landfill moved from Phase 1 and 2 footprints into Phase 3 due to rising waste volumes from regional development, local growth, home renovations, stricter wood-burning rules, and several commercial building fires. Since 2017, tougher environmental regulations have made the landfill’s leachate system non-compliant because of higher thresholds and more precipitation.
The city also set up a liquid waste facility for septic dumping at this location, which ran for about six months before an issue led to its closure by both provincial and federal regulators.
The problem arose when a commercial hauler dumped an unapproved substance, which caused the death of local wildlife, including 19 bald eagles. After cleaning up and testing, the city reopened the facility but knew it was doing so under non-compliance. On top of that, the landfill’s leachate lagoon struggles with processing during cold weather and heavy rain, adding to the environmental challenges.
The ministry outlined five key reasons for penalizing the Prince Rupert Landfill: discharge into the aquatic environment, exceeding discharge limits and quality, litter control violations, and repeated contraventions over multiple years.
Richard Pucci, the city’s deputy city manager, pointed out Prince Rupert’s unique challenges in meeting the province’s tough standards. With an average annual precipitation of about 3,000 mm, managing stormwater and leachate from waste infiltration is particularly difficult. He explained that there are factors beyond the city’s control, such as the increasing thresholds set by the province, which apply a “one-size-fits-all” policy.
To explain, he compared Prince Rupert to communities such as Kelowna, which don’t experience the heavy rainfall or saltwater issues that Prince Rupert faces. These can meet stricter regulations without making changes to their waste management systems, highlighting the difficulty of applying the same rules to very different environments.
Wantage Road Landfill
The administrative penalty of $26,000 related to the Wantage Road Landfill (WRL) concerns two main issues: leachate detection in Hays Creek and ongoing violations over several years.
The WRL was Prince Rupert’s primary landfill from the 1970s until the new site opened on Ridley Island Road in 1990. After that, the city occasionally used the site to dispose of surplus uncontaminated soils from construction projects. Before doing so, the city would consult with the appropriate environmental contact.
The area surrounding WRL has a history of industrial activity, including a former gravel quarry, old U.S. Army munitions buildings, and the Prince Rupert Golf Course. Interestingly, municipal solid waste and hog fuel were used to build parts of the golf course’s fairways and greens.
The WRL itself, however, was never equipped with a proper liner or leachate collection system during its operation or in the decades since it ceased accepting municipal solid waste.
Although no direct evidence links the landfill’s footprint to offsite contamination, leachate from the site has been detected in Hays Creek, which has suffered from decades of human activity, including wartime construction and the use of municipal solid waste in golf course development.
In recent years, there have been multiple breaks in the historic sewer line that runs in and around Hays Creek that resulted in one penalty, which was septic waste.
One challenge is the contamination in Hays Creek cannot be traced to a single source. City staff are proposing a comprehensive Landfill Closure Plan, more monitoring wells, and a rigorous monitoring program to narrow down the source and address the issue.
Sewer outfalls
The administrative penalty of $18,460 for sewer outfalls is due to sewage discharge into the aquatic environment, delays in required system upgrades and violations over multiple years.
The city’s sewer and drainage system, dating back to the early 1900s, is in poor condition with untreated raw sewage discharging into Prince Rupert Harbour from ten separate sewer areas.
Much of the system was installed before 1960, with a significant portion during the Second World War. The system regularly experiences breaks, making it prone to failure.
Under a federal directive, the city must construct a wastewater treatment system that meets current standards by 2030.
To avoid an estimated $250 million cost for upgrading the entire system with three treatment plants, the city is instead building a passive wetland treatment system. This solution uses subsurface biological treatment and is expandable across the community. The city says it’s a more cost-effective alternative used in Europe and other parts of Canada, potentially saving over $100 million and offering a model for other remote and First Nations communities.
Solutions
Richard Pucci, the deputy city manager, presented three options for liquid waste disposal at the council meeting. These solutions, provided by the city’s consultant, are designed to reduce leachate levels and non-compliant discharges.
- Halt septage disposal temporarily until the lagoon system is compliant, allowing time for necessary upgrades. Haulers would need to find disposal sites in other municipalities such as Terrace.
- Continue accepting liquid waste, but close the lagoon’s valve and store it until the system is operational. This would require extra measures and significant pumping costs, and would carry the risk of wildlife incidents and spills. If chosen, haulers should bear these additional costs.
- Continue accepting septage as an approved activity, but with the understanding that leachate generation cannot be stopped. This option may lead to more and penalties since the city wouldn’t be doing everything possible to reduce non-compliant discharges.
For all three permit penalties, the city has applied for an Opportunity to Be Heard (OTBH) by the ministry so it can present its argument to the ministry. This could lead to a reduction or cancellation of the penalty.
If the penalty cannot be forgiven the city will request permission to use the penalty funds to address key issues, such as purchasing $2 million worth of equipment for leachate treatment. A portion of the penalty, around $121,000, could help with this purchase.
Council had a robust discussion about which option to move ahead with.
“I don’t really feel like we can in good conscience just carry on being non-compliant, that’s my gut feeling about that third option,” said Coun. Nick Adey.
“A lot of them is corporations, this isn’t waste coming from my house is my understanding — this is businesses — I’m leaning more to option two with the understanding that we do whatever we can to make sure that your average taxpayer isn’t paying for businesses,” said Coun. Teri Forster.
Coun. Gurvinder Randhawa also expressed an inclination toward option two as did Coun. Reid Skelton-Morven.
“It’s very different in comparison to a lot of communities that do not experience this, unless the ministry of environment has a recipe for it to stop raining, I don’t think we’re going to have any kind of immediate solution on that front,” said Skelton-Morven
Coun. Barry Cunningham is concerned about why the designers and engineers of the failing liquid waste treatment facility at the Rupert Landfill aren’t held liable. He expressed frustration, saying the city spends tens of thousands on consultants, yet it “comes back to bite us in the butt.”
The city is also working toward a pre-treatment processor at the landfill that, when implemented, should maintain compliance targets during cold weather.
Council finally agreed to move forward with the second option, allowing the facility to continue accepting liquid waste while keeping the lagoon’s valves closed and storing it until the lagoon becomes operational in the spring. However, this will require additional measures, significant pumping costs, and regular staff checks while also carrying the risk of another wildlife incident or spill.
