NDP blames government for sewage lagoon breach

Provincial officials took no action that might have prevented the breach of a sewage lagoon in the North Okanagan, the NDP says.

Despite issuing orders to a farmer to improve the lagoon, officials did not follow up to ensure compliance within the required 30 days, MLA George Heyman says.

“No corrective actions were taken up to the time of last week’s sewage spill,” Heyman said in the legislature.

But Environment Minister Mary Polak said Heyman’s assertions of inaction on the part of the government were “just ridiculous.”

Ministry staff have issued pollution-abatement and pollution-prevention orders to nine agricultural operations in the Spallumcheen area, Polak said.

“They’re going to continue to work with the community and the agricultural operators in the area to try and find a way to bring this aquifer back to a state where it has its water advisory removed, but this is a longterm challenge,” Polak said.

About 120,000 gallons of sewage effluent at Gracemar Farms spilled out of the lagoon last week. The company has issued an apology and said remediation efforts are underway.

“We are extremely sorry this event transpired, all the more so in light of concerns around contamination issues involving the local aquifer,” John Kampman said in a media statement.

“Heavy rainfall and winter snows filled the lagoon more quickly than expected, while the snow hid the actual level of the lagoon and it breached and overflowed,” Kampman said.

Cleanup was expected to be complete this week, he said.

Spallumcheen residents have long had water problems, with the Hullcar aquifer showing high levels of nitrate, which are believed to be related to farming operations.