Two Delta businesses have been fined for operating an unlicensed waste processing facility on River Road.
Last week, Metro Vancouver announced that Basran Industries Ltd. and Basran Fuels Ltd. had been ordered to jointly pay fines totalling $110,000 after they pleaded guilty in BC Provincial Court to two offences relating to the facility located just west of the Highway 17 on/off ramps.
In its press release, Metro Vancouver said that during an unspecified number of inspections occurring between October 2019 and October 2023, bylaw officers observed the companies receiving and managing municipal solid waste.
“Metro Vancouver communicated with the Basran facility multiple times and informed them they needed a licence to continue operating, before finally resorting to prosecution under the Municipal Solid Waste and Recyclable Material Regulatory Bylaw,” the release states.
The regional authority is responsible for regulating the operation of private solid waste facilities in the region, as well as air emissions and sewer discharges from industrial, commercial and institutional sources.
There are currently 39 licensed private waste processing facilities in the region, and Metro Vancouver bylaw officers regularly inspect, investigate and carry out enforcement actions to ensure those facilities are following the law.
In response to queries by the Reporter, a spokesperson from Metro Vancouver said via email that officers conducted 31 inspections of the Basran facility between October 2019 and October 2023.
A notice of violation letter was sent to Basran Industries Ltd. and Basran Fuels Ltd. on Nov. 2, 2023, regarding the operation of a facility without a licence as observed during an inspection conducted on Oct. 24, 2023. A summons was filed with the Provincial Court a day later, on Nov. 3, 2023.
The fines and accompanying orders were handed down by the court on Feb. 26 of this year.
As defined under section 23 of the Environmental Management Act, “municipal solid waste” is refuse that originates from residential, commercial, institutional, demolition, land clearing or construction sources, or that is specified by a director to be included in a waste management plan.
A spokesperson from Metro Vancouver said information collected during the 31 inspections indicated the Basran facility was primarily receiving wood waste from various sources, including industrial (sawmill and lumber industry), commercial (shipping, transport and retail), construction, demolition, land clearing and landscaping activities.
Household garbage was not identified during any of the 31 inspections.
Both Basran Fuels and Basran Industries hold valid Delta businesses licences registered at 9486 River Rd., the former under the category of “administration, support, waste management and remediation services/waste collection,” the latter for “manufacturing/all other wood manufacturing.”
A City of Delta representative, in response to an inquiry by the Reporter, said the city “does not have any active enforcement or open investigations” relating to the property.
Neither company currently holds a license with Metro Vancouver, a spokesperson for the regional authority confirmed on March 6, nor do they have an application in progress for any other facility. However, the spokesperson noted there are “multiple entities” operating at the site, and responses to the Reporter’s questions referred only to the facility operated by Basran Industries and Basran Fuels.
No further inspections were conducted of the Basran facility after October 2023, although a Metro Vancouver officer attended a follow-up site meeting with the facility’s owner on Feb. 19 of this year.
Metro Vancouver’s spokesperson said Basran Industries and Basran Fuels are no longer receiving municipal solid waste or recyclable material at the facility “located at or near 9486-9518 River Road.”
Per the court order, the companies are required to remove all municipal solid waste and recyclable material from the northern half of each of those properties by no later than June 30, 2025.
