Yankee Flats and Salmon River Road residents impacted by the Spa Hills composting facility have submitted a legal request to have a regulatory bylaw implemented by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD).
At the Nov. 21 meeting, the board received a letter from lawyer Angela McCue on behalf of area residents requesting that action be taken, and referenced a Ministry of Environment non-compliance report that outlined infractions by the facility. In the letter, McCue also referenced a “misperception” of the board that jurisdiction for composting rests solely with the province, which CSRD staff refuted in a report.
The representative for that community, Electoral Area D director Dean Trumbley, agreed the board should work on a solution to the ongoing problem, such as developing a bylaw as it is within their authority.
"I’m kind of at the point right now where we have all the different opinions of what we can and cannot do, what the province can and cannot do, and I’m approaching it now from the point that although I understand that this business is offering a service that is much needed, there’s a larger issue here of an entire community being affected, and negatively affected,” Trumbley said.
“We have a provincial report that’s come out showing they’re not in compliance in a lot of areas, and... if there’s something that we can do, developing a bylaw that enables us to be able to enforce, then that’s something we need to look at pursuing to rectify the situation for people in the area.”
Given the complexity of the situation which has some parts of it still being discussed in-camera and now a legal component, the rest of the board didn’t offer comment, opting to address it further in the closed meeting.
Though he confirmed he would like to recommend having staff develop a bylaw, Trumbley agreed to continue the discussion in-camera when they can look at all the facts. He did note, however, that he appreciated it coming to a public meeting so those residents know the board is working on the situation.
