The village of Anmore wants a deadline imposed by the Ministry of Environment to prepare a waste management plan for all its liquid waste by next Friday extended if a pollution abatement order issued to the village last August to help resolve ongoing septic issues at the Anmore Green Estates strata complex is not rescinded.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Environment Minister George Heyman, Anmore Mayor John McEwen said it’s “unreasonable and unrealistic” for the village to create such a plan, which would require public consultation, in three and a half months.
He said the village, whose homes are all on septic systems, has been frustrated by a lack of communication from the ministry regarding council’s requests last summer for further information to help it resolve the problem.
“We received a two-page brush-off from the ministry on Oct. 31, 2018 — three and a half months after our request,” McEwen said.
The ministry issued the abatement order Aug. 16; it requires Anmore to develop a plan for managing all its liquid waste following a review by an independent engineer concluded the aging septic system servicing the 51-unit Anmore Green strata couldn’t be repaired after it leaked water contaminated with E. coli and fecal coliform onto the property of neighbouring Eagle Mountain middle school last fall.
Heyman said at the time the ministry was taking the action because “the village has taken no significant actions to prevent or mitigate the risk of further pollution to the grounds of Eagle Mountain middle school.”
A hillside field adjacent to the school has been cordoned off by heavy blue steel fencing erected last December by the Anmore Green strata in response to a pollution abatement order it received a year ago when the contamination was detected during routine testing at several sites along the base of the hill. The order obligated the strata to mitigate risks to public health while it worked on a solution to the leaks.
Subsequent engineering reports recommended Anmore Green be connected to Port Moody’s municipal sewer system, just 60 metres away, as the only viable solution to ensure no further leaks.
At a special meeting Nov. 6, Anmore council passed a resolution to begin negotiations with various agencies, including the city of Port Moody and Metro Vancouver, to facilitate such a connection, prompting its request to the ministry to cancel its pollution abatement order.
McEwen said those negotiations will cease if the order isn’t cancelled or the deadline extended.
Failure to comply with a pollution abatement order can result in a fine of up to $300,000 or six months in jail or both, as well as an administrative penalty of up to $40,000.
