Judge makes compromise on Vancouver Island contaminated soil dumping ban

VANCOUVER – Three companies fighting to dump contaminated soil into a landfill on Vancouver Island have won a partial victory.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Pamela Kirkpatrick has lifted part of a court injunction that barred the businesses from taking tainted soil to the facility near Shawnigan Lake.

Last month, the court upheld a zoning bylaw of the Cowichan Valley Regional District barring the stockpiling of contaminated soil at the site, saying such use was not allowed at the property.

Kirkpatrick says in a written decision released Friday that the companies can fulfil contracts that were in place before the court order was issued on March 21, but cannot do work for any other contracts.

Cobble Hill Holdings Ltd., South Island Resource Management Ltd., and South Island Aggregates Ltd. are appealing the March decision, and the regional director of the Shawnigan Electoral Area says the case is scheduled to be heard in August.

Arrests and protests have occurred since 2013 when the Environment Ministry approved a permit for annual dumping of up to 100,000 tonnes of contaminated soil within the Shawnigan Lake watershed. (The Canadian Press, CFAX)