Group wants action taken against GFL

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

Members from Neighbours Against Pollution (NAP) addressed Wheatland County council after Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt stated negotiation processes with Green for Life (GFL) had broken down and Alberta Environment was not taking any action. He recommended legal action may be necessary.
The county forwarded an independent assessment to Alberta Environment, but staff said no response was received.
“NAP had an AGM on Sept. 11 that I attended … they were very happy with the report that the county got from Dr. Daryl McCartney from June and shared with them, and it covered most of the issues,” said Wheatland County Deputy Reeve Scott Klassen. “There has been an openness to bring these people to the table many times, and appearances in council many, many times … we are doing all the right things, but we haven’t been gaining any ground. I really think it is time to put a motion forward.”
Klassen asked Wheatland County staff to research an aggressive lawyer the county could retain to help resolve issues at the GFL plant, utilizing some of information highlighted in the report. The county had previously received legal advice, but Klassen suggested an environmental lawyer may be needed.
Once the county receives additional legal information, they will make decisions on legal action.
Members of NAP have considered contracting legal representation but are held back by the cost of legal action. Often, class action suit lawyers will defer payment which they will take later from awards given by the court if a case is awarded to the plaintiff.
A member of NAP indicated legal action won’t be easy as threats had been made against his business and threats of legal action were given to him, delivered by GFL lawyers. They suggested he and NAP should step back from the problems at GFL. He said these types of tactics reflect the company’s lack of character and cooperation.
According to Alberta Environment, GFL was stockpiling 95 per cent more sulphur and sulphur-blended compost in 2017 at the Nightingale-area site which exceeded provincial licensing levels. Alberta Environment has not brought charges against the plant or landowners to date.
NAP members said they feel GFL is not honest in their dealings with the public. When GFL reported they were removing the overages of sulphur from their plant, residents suspected they were paying other landowners throughout the county to store the product, rather than delivering it to other GFL plants located further away.
They presented photographs of the piles that appear to be over the allotted provincial criteria of four truckloads. They feel diversion of these sulphur stockpiles distributes problems to other areas in the county. Residents suspect appropriate storage and handling is not occurring for those sulphur piles as well.
GFL has faced infractions in the past. Chris Hall reported for the Port Perry Star, an Ontario newspaper (durhamregion.com), that GFL went to court in April 2017 over illegal dumping charges. They defended against a $105 million lawsuit lodged by Scugog Township, which stated GFL mixed soil contaminants that exceeded standards in clean fill for 12 of 16 sites. GFL was ordered to remediate the situation and clean up 1.3 million cubic metres of contaminated fill. No action was taken to remediate the problem. Scugog’s mayor estimates it will take $100 million to clean up the site. As of June 2018, the lawsuit is still ongoing. GFL operates a soil remediation and decontamination business located in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Sulphur is used in soil amendment and as a fertilizer. There is an international market for sulphur and companies often stockpile to maximize returns on market variances. In the Alberta oilsands, there are stockpiles of sulphur the size of warehouses waiting for shipment to foreign markets. There are significant risks with sulphur piles and safety measures need to be in place for storage.
Mendicito County in California had six deaths in 2017 due to burning sulphur piles which emit H2S gas. If winds carry the gas, it can be potent over an extended area. In October 2016, hundreds suffocated when jihadists set fire to the al-Mishraq sulphur plant in Mosul, Iraq. In Macassar, in the Western Cape Province of Africa, saw thousands evacuated and two people died from fumes generated in the blaze.
NAP members asked council to look into the serious consequences of a sulphur fire, given the GFL plant already had a fire, and they asked whether emergency services were prepared to deal with that type of call.
NAP members also wanted to know if penalties had been issued by the county for practises not covered under the plant’s land use designation, or if tickets were issued for some of the other unsightly and nuisance issues not attended to at the plant.
Staff said they would have to check on the file as to any actions taken by bylaw officers and tickets or fines issued. Staff said they should have some information regarding legal representation to bring back to council on Nov. 6, 2018.