A Revelstoke resort has incurred more than $70,000 in fines for four different administrative penalties for wastewater treatment non-compliance, and is working with the B.C. government to adhere to provincial requirements.
Last January, an inspector with the Ministry of Environment and Parks visited Glacier House Resort (GHR) off Revelstoke's Westside Road and found the business to have contravened four Municipal Wastewater Regulation standards since May 2022.
This included discharging wastewater without someone certified under an Environmental Operators Certification Program; discharging without monitoring the receiving environment; not providing either a sampling facility or flow-measuring device for monitoring municipal effluent; and not monitoring the quality and quantity of municipal effluent.
GHR runs a lodge with a restaurant, pool and cabins, with Wondong Choi and Simon Kook listed as its directors. It has on-site sewage disposal with secondary treatment, whereby wastewater is discharged underground. A well located 70 metres from GHR's two disposal fields provides drinking water for staff and visitors. GHR also contains holding tanks for sludge, a rotating bioreactor, a clarifier and filter chambers.
The resort's effluent discharge contains various contaminants due to the sewage treatment, and GHR being within 300 metres of a well "poses a risk of contamination of drinking water by effluent-impacted groundwater," ministry staff wrote in the penalty assessment.
"Failure to monitor the receiving environment has the potential to allow adverse impacts to drinking water, groundwater, or environmental receptors to persist, as GHR and the Ministry will be unaware of any need for protective measures or to inform potentially affected parties."
The fines for violating Sections 47, 53, 54 and 88 of the Municipal Wastewater Regulation amounted to $40,000, $11,850, $6,850 and $11,425, respectively. This totalled $70,125, with GHR given 30 days until Aug. 22 to pay the penalties.
The provincial government notes GHR previously received two warnings for wastewater non-compliance, back in 2020 and 2022.
"Following the initial inspection by the Ministry in 2022, we became aware that there were multiple regulatory non-compliance issues with our wastewater treatment facility," GHR said in a submission to the province, adding that its 2020-appointed director wasn't notified by the previous resort owner about compliance issues. "As a small, independent resort operator, we do not possess internal technical expertise or trained staff in this area."
GHR subsequently struck a formal services agreement with Kamloops-based consultant Kala Geosciences Ltd. to address the wastewater treatment "deficiencies."
"We emphasize that there was no intention to deliberately violate any regulation," the resort said. "We have acted in good faith by relying on qualified professionals, following their guidance, and bearing all associated costs in an effort to comply."
In an email to Black Press Media, GHR's general manager said that his business has "finalized the penalties" with the province.
"We are currently in ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Environment (and Parks) regarding the inspection conducted earlier this year," he wrote. "Some of the issues identified have already been addressed, while others are actively being resolved."
GHR said it's working with multiple third parties to put its wastewater treatment in line with the Municipal Wastewater Regulation.
"In addition to our existing consultant, we are now also working with another professional company to ensure full compliance with the Ministry乌鸦传媒檚 requirements and standards," the general manager added.