B.C.’s Environment Ministry slapped a $150,000 fine on a Port Coquitlam company last month for leaching waste into the Pitt River.
The penalty against Ground X Site Services, which disposes and recycles materials from dump trucks, came on Aug. 26, 2024, following two inspections of its site at 750 Kingsway Ave., last year and in 2021.
According to the ministry’s website, inspectors found Ground X discharging high levels of arsenic, chromium, lead, coliform and hydrocarbons into a ditch that drains into the nearby Pitt River, which flows into the Fraser River — a vital watercourse in B.C. for wildlife and fisheries.
Ground X’s actions are contrary to Section 6(2) of the Environment Management Act, wrote director Jack Green in a letter to the company.
He issued the maximum administrative penalties of $75,000 against Ground X. As there were two infractions, the total fine for Ground X is $150,000, due on Sept. 26.
A request for comment from Ground X was not immediately returned at time of publication.
In a statement to the Tri-City News on Wednesday, Sept. 11, the city said it “supports the actions of the province to address the environmental violations and harm cause by [Ground X’s] operations.”
The municipality raised its concerns with the provincial government after the company repeatedly violated city bylaws and failed to address environmental risks; to date, Ground X has received 672 tickets from city hall.
The city also got a court injunction to stop Ground X from causing further environmental damage “as it was believed that harmful contaminants were being deposited at the site.”
“Both the [federal] Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the [provincial] Ministry of Environment, who have primary jurisdiction in this matter, have confirmed that they continue to monitor this matter,” the city told the Tri-City News.
Ground X, which has an office at 105-1312 Ketch Crt., in Port Coquitlam, has been around since 2010 to provide dump truck services, flat decks, civil construction material disposals and recycling.
According to its website, Ground X’s past work includes:
- Vancouver Airport Jet Fuel Line Project
- MetroVan Golden Ears Forcemain and River Crossing
- SNC-Lavalin Evergreen Line Subway LRT Project
- City of Burnaby, Coquitlam and North Vancouver disposal agreements
- Clearway construction all project disposal agreement
- Douglas Road Metro Van Main Project Disposal
- Acciona/Aecon Pattullo Bridge disposal agreement
- Fortis LMSU Gas Line (Michels Canada)
- BC Hydro / TELUS fiber optic / Fortis – Canadian Utilities Corp
- KLTP JV – Kinder Morgan (Trans-mountain partnership)
- Michels Canada – North Shore Conveyance - Lions gate Metro-Van Project
- Traylor Aecon – Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel - Metro-Van Project
- Graham/Aecon – Annacis Island Waste Water Treatment
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