The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine has been fined almost $43,000 for repeated violations involving its long-term landfill handling. The fines stem from ongoing violations related to the improper handling of municipal waste and failure to maintain electric fencing around the facility. This site along Highway 37 makes it only two kilometers north of the village of Iskut and an hour south of the regional center of Dease Lake.
Since 40 years as of 1977, the Regional District had an operational certificate for waste disposal. Over the past several years, it has repeatedly violated the conditions of that certificate. In 2020, the district ignored their responsibility to fix a broken gate at the landfill. In addition, they did not appropriately electrify the perimeter fence, bringing significant public safety risk.
Approximately half of inspected pads were found to be leaking or had malfunctioning equipment. From 2022 to 2024, this electric fence dropped below the legally mandated minimum voltage of 6,000 volts twelve times. The district’s failure to correct these repeated violations, 10 warnings during a five-year period, is shockingly consistent.
In August 2023, inspectors found trash blowing outside the perimeter of the landfill. They discovered debris littered inside the perimeter and in the thick vegetation surrounding the area. This buildup of waste created an unsafe situation, having attracted bears to the site. Tragically, conservation officers were forced to destroy five of these bears over the course of the summer because of this.
On August 16, 2024 worries about the district’s adherence to safety standards reached a breaking point. This was attributed to the lack of enforcement of a 15-meter fire break perimeter around areas labeled for disposable combustibles.
“The failure to comply with this requirement presents, at a minimum, a risk of harm to human health and the environment through bears accessing and entering the facility,” stated Jason Bourgeois, an official involved in the assessment.
Bourgeois found no evidence that the Regional District exercised any due diligence to avoid these violations. He highlighted their failure to act on it. The ongoing nature of these violations has resulted in significant upward increases in the sanctions imposed, emphasizing how serious and egregious the circumstances are.
The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine must now decide whether to appeal the decision within 30 days. Recently, other municipalities have succumbed to such violations with consequences resulting in payouts to the E.P.A. For example, B.C.’s Minister of Transportation was hit with a large fine of $21,500 in February 2024, and the City of Chilliwack was fined $11,000 in June 2024.
