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Abbotsford council denies manure company’s application to ALC

Company the source of numerous complaints and environmental infractions
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A photo of uncovered manure at 93 Land Company in Abbotsford in 2019. The Environmental Management Act requires waste storage facilities to have air emission control systems. (BC Ministry of Environment photo)

An Abbotsford chicken manure facility will not be able to continue operating in its current format, following a council decision not to forward the application to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC).

The matter came to council on Monday (July 25), and staff recommended they deny the application.

The facility at 1582 Bradner Rd., across from King Road Elementary, is owned by 93 Land Company and accepts litter from indoor poultry farms throughout the Fraser Valley and sells the manure as fertilizer.

Before 2017, the site was storing poultry manure only from its on-site poultry barn, which is in line with ALC regulations and the zoning bylaw for the area.

But since expanding its operations to accept off-site litter, the facility has been the subject of multiple failed inspections.

The Abbotsford school district has frequently heard concerns from students, staff and parents about the excessive odour emanating from the facility, which they say causes headaches, nausea, breathing issues and other symptoms.

A February 2022 report from the Ministry of Environment found that the company was out of compliance with seven requirements related to a permit approval for the discharge of contaminants into the air.

It was up to council to decide if the application should be forwarded to the ALC to allow the property to continue operating as is.

The recommendation from staff cited in part, its history of environmental infractions.

“Since 2017, there have been a total of six inspections by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and two administrative penalties with regard to compliance with regulatory requirements,” the staff report stated.

The report also indicates that, during one week in April 2022, the ministry logged 65 complaints to the RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) line about emissions from the facility.

The company will be permitted to limit its manure storage to what is generated on site from its own poultry barns.

READ MORE: Fine recommended for stinky Abbotsford manure company with history of non-compliance


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Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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