Decision Date: May 21, 1996
Panel: David Perry
Keywords: Waste Management Act – s. 29; Manitoba (Attorney General) v. Metropolitan Stores Ltd. irreparable harm; balance of convenience; windrow composting; static aerated pile composting ; odour; landfill
The City of Penticton appealed a decision of the Deputy Director of Waste Management that varied the terms and added restrictive conditions to the Citys permit for composting sewage and applied for a stay of the added permit conditions pending the outcome of the appeal. The conditions were designed to eradicate odours. At the time of the decision, the City had initiated a new composting method to control odours but the method still required study. There was no evidence of health risks or environmental damage. Implementing the decision would cost $500,000.
The Board determined that if a stay was not granted and the City won the appeal, then the City could not be compensated and would suffer irreparable harm. The Board held that it would be more inconvenient for the City to make unrecoverable expenditures of $500,000 than it would be for the other parties to tolerate the odour. The Board granted a stay pending the appeal.
