RDOS wants trash cash
Taxpayers out $150,000 in unpaid dumping fees
A local waste services company is being sued by the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen for what the local government claims are years of unpaid dumping fees.
A civil lawsuit filed on March 26 in B.C. Supreme Court alleges Appleton Waste Services owes the RDOS just under $150,000.
The notice of claim states Appleton entered into a credit agreement with the RDOS is 2013 for monthly billing, eliminating the need to pay for each individual load dumped.
“Despite RDOS providing regular monthly invoices, the company did not pay invoices regularly or on time,” the claim states.
The RDOS alleges Appleton acknowledged it owed the district money in five letters in 2016 and one in January 2018.
The last payment Appleton made was on May 30, 2016, court documents say.
“Even if there were no revised charges and the company was charged at the lowest dumping rate only, the outstanding amount owing by the company would be $57,778 (not including interest),” the claim states.
In December 2015, the RDOS stopped providing credit for Appleton, only allowing company drivers to dump at regional landfills with immediate payment.
Multiple appeals were filed by Appleton from 2013 to 2015 looking for revised charges for what it contended were incorrectly identified loads charged at the wrong rates.
“Because the RDOS did not have photographic evidence of each load,” the total charges were reduced by $55,000, the claim states.
Of the $147,000 the RDOS is seeking, $111,000 is tipping fees and $36,000 is interest.
Appleton has 21 days to file a response to the lawsuit. The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment Wednesday.