Decision Date: February 6, 2020

Panel: Brenda Edwards, Darrell Le Houillier, Reid White

Keywords: Administrative Tribunals Act – s. 17; Environmental Management Act – s. 15; air emissions; permit; consent order

Weir Canada Inc. (“Weir”) operates an industrial rubber rebuilding facility in Surrey, BC. The facility provides custom cutting, assembly and rubber lining of pipeline segments used in the mining and oil and gas industries.

In 2017, the District Director for the Greater Vancouver Regional District issued a permit to Weir under the Environmental Management Act and the Greater Vancouver Regional District Bylaw No. 1028, 2008, authorizing the discharge of air contaminants from the facility. The permit is valid until October 29, 2032, and applies to “existing or planned works” at the facility. When the permit was issued, the existing works regulated by the permit consisted of a grist blasting booth, welding stations, paint booth, and rubber buffing station. The permit also regulated emissions from a rubber adhesive booth, urethane curing ovens, and urethane adhesive booths, but Weir had no immediate plans to install those works. The permit contained numerous requirements and conditions including maximum emission flow rates and maximum emission concentrations for each emission source at the facility, as well as requirements for monitoring and reporting air emissions.

Six appeals against the permit were filed by individuals or businesses (the “Appellants”), who asserted that air emissions from the facility would adversely affect the environment, human health, animal health, and business reputations. A subsequent amendment of the permit was also appealed. All of the appeals were scheduled to be heard together.

Before the Board began a hearing on the merits of the appeals, the parties reached an agreement to settle the appeals. By consent of the parties, the Board ordered that the appeals were dismissed with the following conditions:

1. Within 45 days of the date of the consent order, Weir will implement reasonable soil and storm water monitoring in connection with discharges to the air from its facility, and provide copies of the results to the Appellants on a timely basis. Such monitoring shall cease at the earliest of: a) sampling results on two consecutive monitoring events showing no material adverse change in soil and storm water conditions from those documented in the October 3, 2019 final report of the Technical Committee (consisting of representatives of Weir and the Appellants); or b) expiry of the permit.

2. Weir will file with the District Director, within 45 days of the date of the consent order, a permit amendment application incorporating into the permit the soil and storm water monitoring referred to above.

3. Within 45 days of the date of the consent order, Weir will provide the soil quality investigation results obtained as part of the Community and Technical Engagement Plan work to the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and to the City of Surrey for their review and consideration.

Accordingly, the appeals were dismissed.