The Ministry of Environment has issued another pollution abatement order to get the ongoing leakage issues from the septic fields servicing Anmore Green Estates fixed. But this time it’s to the Village of Anmore.
In the order, sent to the village’s mayor and council on Aug. 16, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman, said the action is being taken 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 since last Dec. 23 after high levels of fecal coliform and e coli bacteria were detected at several sites along the base of the hill. The field forms part of the septic system, which collects waste from the 51-unit strata complex above the school.
The erection of that fencing was in response to an initial pollution abatement order issued last November to Anmore Green Estates, which obligated the strata to mitigate risks to public health from the contamination, while it worked out a solution to the leaks.
Subsequent orders required the strata to submit an engineering report for possible solutions and then a peer-reviewed report confirming the previous report’s assertion the septic fields could not be repaired to prevent further leaks.
Both reports recommended Anmore Green be connected to a hook up for Port Moody’s municipal sewer system, just 60 metres away.
But Heyman said discussions with the village to help make that happen have gone nowhere despite Anmore Green’s commitment to cover the $200,000 cost for the connection, plus all associated membership fees to the Greater Vancouver Sewarage and Discharge District (GVS&DD) that administers the sewer systems throughout Metro Vancouver.
“This raises significant concerns with the village’s capacity and willingness to deal with the risks associated with pollution from liquid waste in and around Anmore,” Heyman said.
The latest order requires the village to submit a waste management plan for all of Anmore’s liquid municipal waste by Nov. 30.
Anmore’s mayor, John McEwen, said while the order will be easy enough to fulfill, it amounts to a provincial challenge to the village’s desire to remain apart from the regional sewer network. All of the village’s homes are on septic systems.
“The ministry is forcing our hand,” McEwen said, adding most of the Anmore’s 2,500 residents have no interest in bearing the cost of installing and maintaining a municipal sewer system.
McEwen said the installation of a sewer system could pave the way for more development, something he said residents of the semi-rural community next to Port Moody are loathe to welcome.
“This would be opening up Pandora’s box,” McEwen said. “People in the village are not comfortable with this.”
But the minister’s order does contain a way out for the municipality. If Anmore can reach an agreement with the GVS&DD by Oct. 15 that would allow Anmore Green Estates to hook into Port Moody’s sewer system, it can be rescinded.
McEwen said his staff will work diligently to meet that deadline.
“We still want some questions answered,” he said. “We have to make sure every stone is uncovered.”
Meanwhile, with the school year less than two weeks away, the ministry has confirmed it is “considering all options” to minimize the risk of further sewage leaks onto school property, including how Anmore Green can use its two septic fields.
