JANUARY 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


No quick fix for contaminated aquifer Hullcar review calls for greater co-ordination, oversight but no short-term solution


by PETER MITHAM SPALLUMCHEEN – A review


of how the province handled aquifer contamination in the Hullcar Valley says greater co- ordination and fresh regulation is needed to deal with such issues. Clear accountability with identified lead agencies and the deployment of an effective planning process will be critical.


“I was expecting it to be a little more crisp, but it did say quite a few useful things,” says Brian Upper, chair of the Steele Springs Waterworks District, which draws water from the contaminated aquifer for upwards of 250 residents. The province asked Oliver Brandes of the University of Victoria to complete the report last August. Originally due at the end of September, the report took longer to prepare than expected. It was finally released November 30. While many of the nine


“action principles” in the report reflect steps the former BC Liberal government took in the run-up to last spring’s provincial election, including establishing alternative sources of drinking water, the report encourages government to follow through on initiatives that remain outstanding.


Waste control Among these is a new


agricultural waste control regulation, which has been five years in the making. A fresh intentions paper


regarding the initiative was released in tandem with the Hullcar report that requests feedback by January 15, 2018. While the goals of the


revamped regulation have not changed, the paper sets forth a risk-based approach with corrective actions. It also encourages the beneficial use of manure to prevent negative impacts such as nitrates in groundwater. BC Dairy Association chair


Dave Taylor wasn’t available for an interview but provided a statement indicating support for the measures, though the association continues to engage with Victoria. “We continue to consult with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment on potential new agricultural waste control measures for both [the Hullcar Valley] and across the province,” he says. “Our focus as an association is on fostering sustainable practices that are practical for industry and workable for communities across British Columbia.” Upper says the new


regulation could help, but he maintains that inadequate oversight and planning allowed the H.S. Jansen & Sons dairy that farms the so- called field of concern above the aquifer to establish operations in the area in 2006. Upper would like to see the


province implement the report’s recommendation of greater, co-ordinated oversight of farm development. “There has to be an


approval process before a farm establishes and before there’s any expansion of a farm,” he says. “It would stop a farm from establishing in a sensitive area that’s not appropriate.” Approval processes exist in


Alberta and Ontario, but not in BC. “[Jansens] were able to get building permits with no questions asked and that for me is an important hole to fill,” Upper says. Active oversight of farm


practices is needed, too, rather than the current complaint-driven process. While nutrient management plans are good, someone has to ensure they’re being followed. “We need people who can check and monitor as they go along,” says Upper, adding: “This monitoring that goes on has to be impartial. It can’t be that the farmers pay for it.”


Immediate action The near term promises


action against existing farms, including the 1,000-head Jansen dairy, one of four farms still operating under pollution abatement orders issued under contested circumstances in May 2016. The primary goal is to


ensure clean drinking water for Hullcar residents, followed in quick succession by measures including the issuance and enforcement of a moratorium on the spreading of liquid manure on the field of concern. Alternatively, additional pollution abatement orders may be issued. A cap on livestock density is also possible.


The measures reflect


recommendations that Calvin Sandborn of the Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria, has made. Sandborn is an outspoken critic of the Jansen farm and worked with area


residents affected by the aquifer prior to being appointed special advisor to the review panel at its formation. Sandborn’s previous work


made five key recommendations, the majority aimed at tighter


hydrogeologically. The interministry working group overseeing the matter acknowledged this, too, in the face of public demands for a faster solution. “Ultimately, no one simple solution exists,” the latest report states.


“This monitoring that goes on has to be impartial. It can’t be that the farmers


pay for it.” Brian Upper, chair of Steele Springs Waterworks District


management of farm practices: • place a cap on dairy cow density for farms that spread their manure on site; • require nutrient


management plans that limit manure applications to non- polluting levels;


• require adequate manure storage facilities;


• support opportunities for alternative manure processing technologies; and


• expand land use management planning measures. Both the report as well as Upper acknowledge there will be no quick fix to what is a complex issue politically, socially and


Upper says the latest tests on Steele Springs’ water indicate nitrate levels in the range of 16.8 parts per million (ppm), well above the 10 ppm that Canada’s drinking water guidelines consider safe. He says the nitrates that began leaching into the aquifer prior to any corrective measures being taken will continue to do so. This is something both he and farmer Dale Jansen agree on but which most people don’t understand. “The greatest part of the nitrate plume is still going through our source,” he says. “We’re still going to see our numbers go up even if they stop putting everything on that field.”


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