Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / The B.C. government has issued a warning letter about alleged environmental violations associated to the wastewater treatment facility at Ford Mountain Correctional Centre. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Ford Mountain Correctional Centre

B.C. govt. issues warning letter about alleged environmental violations at Chilliwack correctional centre

Sep 17, 2024 | 10:17 AM

UPDATE: Ford Mountain Correctional Centre in Chilliwack is now known as Xàws Schó:lha Correctional Centre. The change of name reportedly occurred earlier this year.

Original story below: 

CHILLIWACK — The B.C. government has issued a warning letter about alleged environmental violations associated to the wastewater treatment facility at a correctional centre in Chilliwack.

According to a warning letter dated August 23, 2024, an environmental protection officer from the from the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy conducted a planned on-site inspection of the wastewater treatment facility at 57657 Chilliwack Lake Road, home to Ford Mountain Correctional Centre (Xàws Schó:lha Correctional Centre), on July 23, 2024. The objective of the visit by Officer Michael Jeffery was to ensure compliance with the Municipal Wastewater Regulation. An authorization was granted to the facility for up to 200m3/day, or 200,000 litres, of effluent discharge. Registration documents state the correctional facility provides disinfection with ultraviolet light prior to discharge.

The warning letter goes on to say that while the authorization is registered to CITZ, or B.C. Ministry of Citizenss Services, operations and maintenance for the facility is contracted out to Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis, or CBRE, a well-recognized commercial real estate services company.

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During the on-site inspection in July 2024, Officer Jeffery from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy was accompanied by five management personnel directly employed by CBRE, or contracted to work with CBRE, including an environmental manager, maintenance team lead, a building maintenance manager, an operations manager, and a chief operator.

One of the requirements for operating the wastewater treatment facility, per the administrative warning letter, is that a discharger must establish a receiving environment monitoring program that provides for at least one control sampling station located upstream, upgradient or outside the influence of the initial dilution zone of the municipal effluent. Further, the operator must obtain data to assess the potential impact of the discharge or reclaimed water and ensure that the discharge or reclaimed water does not or will not cause water quality parameters, outside the initial dilution zone, to fail to meet water quality guidelines; and document pre-discharge conditions. During the on-site inspection, the environment manager confirmed to Officer Jeffery that no receiving environment monitoring (REM) program had been established for the site, and that no REM was conducted throughout the inspection period.

Another area of alleged non-compliance involves a contingency plan that clearly outlines emergency procedures for the wastewater facility, including lift stations; procedures for notifying a health officer when necessary; actions to be initiated if municipal effluent quality fails to meet the requirement of the Municipal Wastewater Regulation; and an alternate method of disposal or storage if reclaimed water use is not possible. The administrative warning found that neither the 2010 nor 2019 Operations Plan (which contain contingency plans) allegedly included information on actions to be taken if municipal effluent quality fails to meet the requirements of this regulation.

Of the remaining alleged violations, the facility’s 2010 Operating Plan recommends that a receiving environment monitoring program occur, but no REM was allegedly conducted during the inspection period, meaning the facility was found to be out of compliance.

On three alleged occasions between March 2021 and February 2023, the facility operators allegedly failed to promptly submit a non-compliance report for every instance where the discharge failed to meet a requirement of the Municipal Wastewater Regulation.

As part of the Municipal Wastewater Regulation, a person must ensure that a discharge of municipal effluent within 300 metres of a drinking water source meet Class A municipal effluent requirements. The environmental officer confirmed there were two drinking water wells on site during the inspection in July. However, effluent data from the government allegedly found that municipal effluent quality failed to meet Class A requirements on 38 occasions in the inspection period.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has asked the Ministry of Citizens’ Services, or Ford Mountain Correctional Centre (Xàws Schó:lha Correctional Centre), to immediately institute the necessary changes or modifications to remediate the alleged incidents of non-compliance, and to advise what corrective measures are being taken to prevent future incidents of alleged non-compliance.