B.C. fines company maximum of $150K for letting waste enter river

A company in Port Coquitlam, B.C., has been hit with a fine totalling $150,000 by the province for environmental infractions after it was found to have allowed waste to enter a river.

The Ministry of Environment issued Ground X Site Services, a company that offers dump truck services and disposes of construction material, two counts of the maximum penalty on Aug. 26 after inspections in 2021 and 2023 determined the facility on 750 Kingsway Ave. was introducing waste into the Pitt River without proper authorization.

The company allows hydrovac trucks to dump construction slurry — a mix of water and waste material left over from excavations — into settling pits at the property.

Inspectors said they observed wastewater discharging into a ditching system on the northern edge of the site, as well as directly into the Pitt River to the south.

According to the penalty assessment decision, the company denied the allegations — claiming "historical use of the property has created a contaminated site" that is "challenging ... environmentally."

Ground X also disputed the ministry's characterization of its business.

"The Ministry's claim that GroundX is a Commercial Waste Disposal Facility is not correct," the company said in its defence.

"GroundX does not handle nor dispose of waste. GroundX is a transfer facility for reuse materials ... Hydrovac mud/water are reusable materials and are not in any way considered effluent."

Samples collected during inspections on Nov. 29, 2021, and Dec. 7, 2023, showed the effluent contained metals, hydrocarbons, bacteria and other contaminants of concern.

Inspectors found levels of fecal coliforms, E. coli, and chemicals including arsenic, chromium, cobalt, lead, pyrene and chloroform exceeded B.C. water quality guidelines, ranging from 11 per cent above the limit for arsenic to 14,650 per cent for pyrene.

Following the December 2023 inspection, the ministry handed the company a pollution abatement order.

Pitt River is a major tributary of the Fraser River, and both hold a rich diversity of wildlife and fish species, including Pacific salmon species, which have experienced significant declines over the last 125 years, the province said.

Jack Green, director of the Environmental Management Act (EMA), said the effluent being discharged from the facility is "capable of injuring any life form or is capable of damaging the environment."

He described Ground X's contravention as "major," but found "insufficient evidence" the discharges on the two dates in question "caused actual real adverse effects on the environment" — meaning the potential for harm was "medium."

Contamination was historical, company says

Green assessed the base penalty for each day at $20,000 but the fine increased dramatically when he factored in more than $300,000 as the alleged "economic benefit" Ground X derived from avoiding costs associated with an authorization to discharge waste.

Green noted the unsuccessful efforts the company made to get authorization.

"On Sept. 16, 2021, Ground X applied for a waste discharge authorization for the facility," Green wrote.

"However, on April 8, 2024, the Ministry cancelled the application as additional information required was not provided by the April 1, 2024 deadline."

Green's final penalty assessment came to $323,500 for each of the two days — but since the maximum penalty under the legislation caps out at $75,000, Ground X was fined $75,000 a day instead for the $150,000 total. 

In its response to the fine notice in July 2024, Ground X claimed the contamination found at the site was due to historical uses, adding the property has no drainage and an insufficient dike, which leads to flooding on the southern portion of the property.

The company disputes the facility is the source of any contamination into the northern ditch, stating the area's groundwater management is interconnected, which feeds untreated wastewater from other sources into the river.

Ground X added it has made significant efforts over the years to install barriers, filtration measures and silt fencing to control effluent on the low-lying southern portion of the property.

"The claim that Ground X is causing pollution and discharging into the Pitt River is grossly exaggerated and frankly without merit," the company said in its response.

But the province gave little weight to Ground X's assertion that historical industry is the source of the contamination, noting that no supporting evidence was provided.

It also note the sampled effluent contains contact water from piles of solid hydrovac waste, soil, concrete, asphalt and compost at the facility.

Reports submitted by the company also identified the hydrovac slurry ponds as potential areas of concern regarding contaminants, according to the province.

Ground X also blamed the City of Port Coquitlam for the contamination, stating it has not implemented any erosion and soil control measures on its land bisecting the property.

Warnings date back 3 years

In July 2024, a B.C. Supreme Court judge temporarily barred Ground X from depositing and removing soil and hydrovac waste, altering the land and operating on the site without a business licence.

Warnings from the ministry date back to July 2021, and the company was repeatedly told it could not allow waste to be introduced to the environment without authorization.

While some effort was made to prevent these discharges, documented observations from inspectors have led the ministry to believe the contamination was ongoing, Green said.

In determining whether the contraventions were deliberate in nature, Green said the company was at least "willfully blind."

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