The municipal government of the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) is appealing a court decision on Shawnigan Lake landfill to the Supreme Court of Canada. The CVRD wants the Supreme Court to order that the landfill be shut down and that deposited contaminated soil be removed. The landfill has a permit to operate that was issued by the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment.
A consortium of companies own and manage the landfill. The companies include South Island Aggregates (SIA), Cobble Hill Holding (CBH), and South Island Resource Management (SIRM). The existing permit, issued by the B.C. Environment Ministry permits the disposal of approximately 5 million tonnes of contaminated soil at the landfill.
The Shawnigan landfill is the site of a former quarry. The CVRD is of the view that existing zoning bylaws for the municipality does not allow the property to be used as a landfill.
In the spring of 2016, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in favour of CVRD. However, an appeal by the site owners to the B.C. Court of Appeal resulted in the lower court ruling being overturned. Now CVRD is taking the case to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In the view of CVRD, the local municipality should have the ability to control land use through zoning bylaws and without provincial interference. The Site owners are of the opinion that the quarry and landfill activity falls under provincial jurisdiction.
The consortium of companies that own and operate the landfill had 30 days to response to CVRD’s application to the Supreme Court to hear the case. A decision by the Supreme Court on whether it will hear the case is expected shortly.
CVRD is not only asking the Supreme Court to reverse the decision on use of the property as a landfill but also require the property owners to remove any contaminated soil that has already been deposited.
