Soil company convicted for toxic dirt

City garbage collector faces lawsuit, but charges dropped

A soil broker has been convicted of environmental offences in the case of the toxic Toronto-area dirt that was illegally dumped on a Peterborough County sheep farm.

But in the same case, the Crown attorney has withdrawn Environmental Protection Act charges against Green For Life (GFL), Toronto’s contracted garbage collector, which also has a thriving business that removes soil from downtown development sites.

“We always believed that these charges were without merit and that we had acted appropriately in all instances,” said GFL lawyer Joy Grahek. “We are pleased with this outcome for our company, our employees and our stakeholders.”

Kate Jordan, spokeswoman for the Ontario Ministry of Environment, said in an email the Peterborough County Crown attorney’s office was “satisfied” that the GFL charges were “validly laid” by ministry officials. However, Jordan said, the Crown decided to drop them because Earthworx Industries pleaded guilty and GFL had already removed truckloads of contaminated soil.

In a Star story last fall, GFL president and CEO Patrick Dovigi said his company chose to be a good corporate citizen by cleaning up the mess left on farmer Ruco Braat’s land, in the hamlet of Bailieboro, Ont. Dovigi also said GFL took just 192 truckloads to the farm and suggested that another soil company brought the dirty soil to Braat’s land.

After pleading guilty last week, Earthworx and its director, Claudio Villa, were fined $84,500 (plus a 25per-cent victim surcharge) for offences related to the deposit of soil contaminated with metals and organic compounds on the sheep farm.

Braat said he accepted the offer of “clean” earth in the summer of 2011. He later discovered that the dirt was filled with glass, bricks, wood and plastic. Tested for contaminants, the lab results found elevated levels of heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium, copper and zinc. “In some respects, we are disappointed,” Braat said, “but at least Earthworx pleaded guilty, proving that we have a valid case and that we weren’t the problem. They were the problem. That’s what we said all along, and they kept trying to wash their hands of it.”

Braat is suing Earthworx and GFL for $2 million in damages. GFL is countersuing for $600,000 claimed in soil-removal costs.