Residents say they're 'validated' by winning fight against illegal waste near Cultus Lake

More than a year after trucks began dumping load after load of business waste near her Fraser Valley home, D'Arcy Henderson finally witnessed a load get hauled away.

Trucks began removing waste from a property on Iverson Road near Cultus Lake, B.C., about 101 kilometres east of Vancouver, on Wednesday, June 28. It had originally been dropped off over the course of several months in 2022 without provincial approval, violating B.C.'s Environmental Management Act.

"The word that ricochets is vindication," Henderson told CBC News. "We've had serious, legitimate concerns and thankfully the government agencies involved have validated that."

The waste, which from a distance might look like compost, contains large amounts of plastics, wood, and other foreign materials, deeming it unsuitable for soil enhancement. It was discharged by the Abbotsford-based organic waste conversion company Fraser Valley Renewables (FVR), which collects and processes municipal organic waste, grocery and restaurant waste, and yard waste throughout Metro Vancouver.

Residents had raised concerns the waste could leach into an aquifer below the soil and contaminate the local water supply.

The removal comes after countless complaints by residents and local politicians to B.C.'s Ministry of Environment over the growing waste piles. Ministry inspectors visited the property in November 2022 and issued a notice to stop dumping a month later.

The Agricultural Land Commission then ordered FVR and the property owner to begin removing the material by June 14.

The ALC told CBC News it was advised on Friday that removal was underway, more than two weeks after it had set the initial start date.

In an e-mail, ALC operations director Avtar Sundher said FVR must removal all materials and remediate the land by May 31, 2024. Further penalties are still under consideration.

CBC News has reached out to FVR's spokesperson for comment.

Residents still have lingering concerns over the speed of the removal.

"I'm ecstatic," Henderson added. "[But] I'm a little disappointed in the pace of action. I think we all would like to see the same intense delivery they used in bringing the material to our neighbourhood employed in bringing it out of our neighbourhood."

The waste was dropped on 810 Iverson Rd., a property owned by farmer Bruce Vander Wyck.

An FVR spokesperson told CBC News in January that the company was working with Vander Wyck to increase the nutrient values of his farm land. It was to be screened for foreign materials like plastics onsite.