A private utility company set up to serve a B.C. ski resort has been penalized nearly $120,000 for failing to properly maintain its sewage system.
The company, Hemlock Utility Services Ltd., provides hydroelectricity, water and sewage services to Sasquatch Mountain Resort about 65 kilometres outside Chilliwack, B.C.
Hemlock’s permit under the province’s Environmental Management Act gives it permission to discharge effluent to surface water from the ski resort. To do so, it is required to hire qualified staff and monitor the quality of sewage released into the environment, according to a June 9 decision by Kelly Mills, director of the Environmental Management Act.
But over the course of 2023 and 2024, the company failed to monitor effluent for several contaminants — including fecal coliform bacteria — before discharging it into a creek that flows into a waterway known to bear coho salmon, rainbow trout and steelhead.
The contravention was found to have been repeated seven times. The penalty to Hemlock Valley was increased due to its deliberate nature and because the company economically benefited from the lack of oversight.
“The ministry's mandate is to prevent harm to the environment and human health — not wait to act until something bad has happened,” wrote Mills in her decision.
Mills also found the company failed to install and maintain a flow meter, record monthly samples of effluent and submit records to the province.
In submissions, Hemlock Valley said it was “currently taking and recording flow meter readings once daily as per the permit requirements” and that the “flow meter device has been repaired to ensure accuracy and compliance.”
Mills said the company did not provide any evidence to back up those claims despite multiple attempts to validate their actions.
The biggest share of the penalties to the company came from its lack of qualified staff, according to the decision.
Hemlock’s permit requires wastewater infrastructure to be maintained by operators certified by the Environmental Operators Certification Program Society.
The company had been repeatedly penalized in the past for failing to ensure properly certified staff maintained the sewer system.
By failing to have the facility certified and maintained by an appropriate expert, the company was found to have avoided $122,600 in costs in recent years.
In submissions, Hemlock Valley Utilities said its manager was currently enrolled in the Environmental Operators Certification Program and was expected to complete Level 1 training by the end of 2025.
“The intention is to then proceed with further levels as required,” a company submission stated. “This is part of our broader effort to ensure compliance and demonstrate that we are working on changing for the better.”
According to the decision, the company’s wastewater treatment system is relatively complex and is classified as a level three system. That means the company’s efforts to educate its manager will still fall short this year, wrote Mills.
“Failure to comply with the operator certification operational requirement created, at a minimum, a risk of harm to the environment or human health and safety,” the director wrote.
Hemlock Valley Utilities was ultimately ordered to pay a combined $119,250 in administrative penalties. The company has 30 days to appeal the decision.
An emailed statement to BIV attributed to “Hemlock Valley Utilities” said the company takes the violations “seriously and is committed to ensuring we are compliant.”
“Unfortunately, a large portion of the penalty was due to team certifications — presently being completed — which are held sporadically throughout the year and only in certain locations within the province,” the statement read.
The statement said the ministry rejected the arguments Hemlock Utility Services Ltd. had submitted as part of the compliance process.
The other penalties have been “addressed and rectified,” the company said.
