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Given that farmland in Surrey is essentially at sea level, the importance of proper drainage and the impact of the illegal dumping of soil was becoming a real issue for area farmers.
In fact, prior to October 2004, due to the tremendous amount of construction going on, it was common to discover three or four hundred truckloads of dirt being illegally dumped over a weekend.
That’s when Surrey’s Agriculture Advisory Committee stepped in to begin to actively report illegal dumping of fill.
Now with the support of the City of Surrey, they have helped to spearhead a comprehensive program aimed at reducing illegal dumping.
John Sherstone, Surrey’s Manager of Bylaw and Licensing Programs points to both education and enforcement as the key to the success of the program.
In addition to an information campaign aimed at informing excavation and trucking firms where they could dump legally, Surrey produced 100 bylaw enforcement signs and placed them along roadsides, mostly in farming areas.
"We now have one bylaw enforcement officer working full time in this area in addition to out other personnel that all attend dumping sites regularly to check for permits", said Sherstone.
Daily patrols have reduced the number of non-permitted soil sites while acceptable sites have been identified to provide fill for local dyke upgrading.
Problem contractors have been identified and are under investigation and observation.
The bylaw personnel liaise with a number of federal and provincial agencies including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the B.C. Ministry of Environment, the Agricultural Land Commission and the provincial commercial transport inspectors.
Since the expansion of the program, the number of permits issued by the City to dump soil legally has increased five-fold.
The word is out that trucking firms, contractors, excavators and property owners are subject to fines for illegal dumping.
And there are currently four cases before the courts.
"The Surrey AAC played a key role in identifying this as an issue and we were able to respond with a comprehensive approach that benefits contractors, farmers and landowners in a positive way."
For more information, contact:
Kathleen Zimmerman, Regional Agrologist, B.C. MAL
Tel: 604 556-3048
Reprinted with permission from:
GROWING together Fall 2005 Vol. 6, No. 1
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
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