The federal government is investigating how a dump on First Nations land near Chilliwack was allowed to get started and dispose of truckloads of garbage right next to the Fraser River without a permit, CTV News has learned.
Conservationists are concerned that without proper oversight, the Over The Edge Landfill on Skwah Nation land could drain pollution into the Fraser River.
“It’s frustrating that this type of garbage is being dumped in a local waterway,” said Sheila Muxlow of the WaterWealth project.
It’s also a concern to the Fraser Valley Regional District, which points out in reports that because the dump is on native land, it doesn’t know what waste is going into it – and has no authority to check.
The Over The Edge Landfill used to be a gravel pit, and now appears to be a dump site with several piles of garbage, and a mansion under construction overlooking it all.
Red spray painted signs point the way to the dump, and to the dump’s office, which is a mobile trailer at the side of a gravel road.
Garbage could be seen in a pool a short distance from the Fraser River. In video provided to CTV News, heavy trucks and a backhoe can be seen moving garbage and dirt.
The mansion belongs to the man who operated the gravel pit, Skwah Councillor Adam Mussell, according to an employee on site and a Skwah councillor, Leslie Williams.
An employee said Adam Mussell was out of the country and he didn’t return phone calls.
Williams said that Mussell was likely building the mansion using money he had made from the gravel pit operation. The mansion has a roof, most of its windows, and a door, but it’s missing a planned stone exterior, employees said.
Williams said that the local band had permitted the gravel pit and has plans for the area to be restored.
“Under our land use bylaw, it’s classified as a gravel and a dump site, and that was never changed and still is. Per our by law he (Mussell) can do anything to restore it,” Williams said.
But according to Aboriginal and Northern Development Canada, the Skwah landfill has no license to operate.
“There is currently no lease or permit under the Indian Reserve Waste Disposal Regulations for the Skwah Over The Edge Landfill,” wrote AANDC spokesperson Hazel Desharnais.
While some bands can offer themselves permits under the First Nations Land Management Act, the Skwah is not one of those bands, Desharnais said.
AANDC officials are now investigating how the dump came to be and what to do about it, she said.
A Fraser Valley Regional District report notes that those wanting to dump garbage are often motivated to avoid municipal facilities and dump elsewhere because tipping fees are cheaper.
