Decision Date: January 21, 1997

Panel: Bob Radloff, Joan Rysavy, Jack Lapin

Keywords: Waste Management Act – s.7, s.22.2; Environment Management Act – s.5; spray irrigation

Mr. Bianco, the owner of Happy Valley Mobile Home Park, appealed a decision of the Deputy Director of Waste Management upholding a Pollution Prevention Order (the ‘Order’) which required Mr. Bianco to cease spray irrigation, empty the new lagoon and to obtain the services of a professional engineer to design, build and operate an alternate sewage disposal system. Prior to the Order, Mr. Bianco had been found in non-compliance with his sewage disposal permit and the Waste Management Act on a number of occasions. Mr. Bianco appealed each of the requirements of the Order.

The Board found that Mr. Bianco was operating his spray irrigation contrary to the permit and the Act and allowing untreated effluent to flow overland. The cost of meeting the spray irrigation requirements was not acceptable as a defence. The Board found, on the evidence presented, that the lagoon should be emptied because of the risk of lagoon failure due to structural integrity problems. The Board further found that Mr. Bianco has not built his sewage systems in accordance with the designs of professionals and, as a result, they do not adequately protect the environment. The Board held that the purpose of the Waste Management Act is to protect the environment, and that given Mr. Bianco’s history, the Order was appropriate. The appeal was dismissed.