Decision Date: February 26, 1996

Panel: David Perry

The Appellant, Lamford Forest Products, sold the property on which their sawmill operated to Manning Jamison Ltd. The Regional Manager ordered both Lamford and Manning Jamison to clean up the site. They appealed the orders to the Deputy Director who upheld the Regional Managers order. Although not expressly provided for in the contract of sale, Lamford argued that the low purchase price reflected an agreement that Manning Jamison would be solely responsible for remediation of the property. Lamford asked that the orders against them be vacated, or in the alternative, apply only to the extent that Manning Jamison had insufficient assets to comply with the order. The appeal was dismissed. The Board found that the intent of section 22 and 22.2 of the Waste Management Act was to give the Regional Manager a very broad discretion in making remediation orders. The Board upheld the Deputy Directors decision that the orders issued by the Regional Manager were a proper exercise of discretion. The Board also rejected Manning Jamison’s claim that a foreshore lease had not been properly conveyed to them and that they were thus not responsible for one of the clean-up orders.