No hazardous waste was found at the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) Gilmour Road storage yard in Elphinstone. However, the report from a Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (MECCS) site inspection on July 8 stopped short of saying that the site was in full compliance with the Environmental Management Act.
In his report, MECCS protection officer Kyle Lynch concluded that asphalt being stored at the site does not meet the definition of waste, refuse or hazardous waste under the Environmental Management Act.
“As asphalt was not being disposed at the site and was being temporarily stored for re-use, it is not defined as a waste or refuse, therefore, compliance with the requirements of this section could not be determined for the inspection period,” Lynch wrote.
The report said asphalt grindings and pieces were observed throughout the site during the inspection.
Lynch stated that MOTI area operations manager Michael Braun confirmed to him that grindings from a local road works project had been stored at the site temporarily since July 2020 and that the bulk of that material had been removed by MOTI.
The inspection was done in response to a complaint from a member of the public. Lynch’s report was posted on B.C.’s Natural Resources Compliance and Enforcement Database website on Aug. 19.
