Herbicide error costs city $165K in fines, penalties
2016 Hyvar X-L case also results in settlements with homeowners
The City of Edmonton will pay $165,000 to settle environmental charges after damaging trees and shrubs on residential properties in a southwest neighbourhood with industrial-grade herbicide.
The settlement is tied to a case launched by the province in 2018. It came two years after city staff “inadvertently used the herbicide Hyvar X-L” on May 11, 2016, while treating vegetation along pathways in the neighbourhood of Haddow, said Gord Cebryk, deputy city manager for city operations.
Hyvar X-L is a federally-regulated herbicide not intended for use in residential neighbourhoods. The city also settled four claims with property owners for the damage done to residential properties in the area, said Cebryk.
“We take full responsibility for what occurred in this incident,” he said at a news conference following the city’s provincial court appearance Monday.
As part of its punishment, the city will pay a fine of $14,600, but a bulk of the penalty will be paid through a “creative sentence” that will see the city spend $150,400 to support three environmental projects. These include a University of Alberta research project to find ways to control invasive slugs without pesticides, an Edmonton Native Plant Society initiative to help enhance the Wagner Natural Area near Spruce Grove, and two projects sponsored by the Alberta Invasive Species Council, including work with a goat herder to control invasive weeds in the North Saskatchewan River watershed.
“We never want to make errors like this, but we are reassured that the investment in these three projects will benefit our community, and reinforce our commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Cebryk.
Cebryk said that the city no longer uses Hyvar X-L and has increased training programs for staff who apply pesticides or herbicides.
“This enhanced training is above and beyond the provincially and federally regulated requirements for staff that they already meet,” he said.
City council has debated Edmonton’s use of traditional pesticides several times and after a 2017 audit, city officials also committed to more transparent reporting of where and why the chemical treatments are used by instituting a public, digital geographic tracking system for all herbicide use.
“That allows us to have a better understanding of where and when we are using herbicide and pesticide products, so that we know in real-time where these products are being used,” said Cebryk.
After the herbicide was used, the city had to close paths to dig up and dispose of the soil in the area that had been sprayed.
The city also informed nearby homeowners, schools and community leagues of the remediation work and the “inadvertent herbicide application” prior to closing the pathways and after they were reopened.
The city said before they opened the pathways again, a comprehensive analysis was carried out and it confirmed there was no trace of the herbicide or any other contaminants.
Edmonton has a cosmetic herbicide ban with exceptions, one of which is the use of herbicides to control provincially-regulated weeds to prevent growth and spread.
The city was originally charged in August 2018 with seven counts related to the application of the herbicide. City representatives appeared in court Monday to present a joint submission with the province, but the city said it pleaded guilty to a single charge under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.