Judge orders fines against Surrey waste-disposal firm

Fraser Valley punished for accepting asbestos, excessive amounts of waste

The operator of a Surrey wastedisposal company has been fined $28,000 in Surrey provincial court.

Denny Liang, also known as Haowen Liang, a director of Fraser Valley Disposal Ltd., was fined by Judge Paul Dohn for three convictions under the regional solidwaste bylaw related to accepting unauthorized and excessive materials without reporting them from Jan. 21, 2011, to Sept. 21, 2012.

The judge found that Liang’s “conduct went on for a significant period of time and on multiple occasions.”

“Virtually every time the environmental officers attended to Fraser Valley, there was some sort of a violation and despite numerous warnings and even suspensions the unlawful behaviour continued,” Dohn said.

In a related decision, Fraser Valley Disposal, which changed its name to Bright Sky Disposal, was fined a total of $58,500 for two counts, and its director and Liang’s ex-wife Fanny Liang a total of $1,500 after pleading guilty in 2015 at Surrey court.

The firm, on 116th Avenue in Surrey’s Bridgeview area, had accepted excessive amounts of waste on 24 days — by up to 11 times its legal limit, according to Metro Vancouver’s calculations — and accepted a variety of unauthorized materials on 11 days, including asbestos, a particularly hazardous material.

A list of Metro environmental offenders last year includes Harvest Fraser Richmond Organics Ltd., fined a total of $3,000 for three offences, related to failing to comply with works and operating requirements, and discharge of air contaminants. The company has been the subject of hundreds of public complaints related to odours emitted from its composting facility on York Road in Richmond.

Two fines were issued for failing to register diesel equipment, including $190 to Boffo Developments Ltd. of Burnaby and $275 to Pineland Peat Farms Ltd. of Delta. Both firms have been previously fined.

The region’s Non-Road Diesel Bylaw took effect in 2012, intended to minimize health risks from heavy equipment used on construction sites. A series of escalating fees encourage operators to retire older equipment that produces the most diesel fumes.

Finally, Axiom Builders Inc. of Vancouver was fined $1,000 last year by Metro for discharge of an air contaminant.

Virtually every time the environmental officers attended to Fraser Valley, there was some sort of a violation.