Fines were levied in Vernon Provincial Court Wednesday over a Coldstream water contamination case. The District of Coldstream, Pan-O-Ramic Farms,
and Pan-O-Ramic’s then-owner, Ernest Rod Palfrey, were each fined for
their roles by Judge Mayland McKimm after pleading guilty in the
contamination of the Antwerp Springs water source in January 2010. Coldstream pleaded guilty to one count of failing
to provide potable water. McKimm fined the district $16,000, along with
a victim fine surcharge of $2,400, and gave the district 30 days to pay
up. Palfrey and Pan-O-Ramic Farms each pleaded guilty to one count of introducing waste into the environment causing pollution. They were each fined $1,000 and ordered to make
$7,000 contributions to the Heritage Conservation Trust Fund, an
organization that, according to its website, “invests in projects that
maintain and enhance the health and biological diversity of B.C.’s fish,
wildlife, and habitats so that people can use, enjoy, and benefit from
these resources.” Palfrey and Pan-O-Ramic Farms have a year to pay their fines. “The fine may seem modest, but at the end of the
day, it’s a reflection that as populations in rural areas close to urban
areas begin to expand outwards, and weather becomes more and more
unique and unreliable, farmers are going to have to pay closer attention
to the consequences of their farm practices,” said McKimm. McKimm accepted as fact from Crown Joel Gold,
Palfrey lawyer Dave Schaefer and Coldstream lawyer Bruce Elwood, that
extraordinary events and a series of failures conspired to cause the
contamination on Jan. 13, 2010.
Palfrey ran Pan-O-Ramic Farms which was situated
up slope from a well operated by the District of Coldstream and owned by
the Regional District of North Okanagan. Palfrey instructed an employee to distribute waste from his dairy farm onto his fields in early January 2010. Manure was spread onto snow and frozen ground. On Jan. 13, 2010, a heavy rainfall landed on top
of substantial snowpack, causing the snow to melt rapidly, and the water
landing on the snowpack flushed the effluent into a culvert which then
went to various drains and ultimately onto a field near four separate
wells operated by the District of Coldstream to supply potable water to
its residents. McKimm said it was “highly unlikely and barely
foreseeable” that the water course the effluent took would arrive at the
well site “But in any event it did, and a series of other
failures took place,” said McKimm, including a failure of the runoff
systems to run that effluent into coldstream creek as opposed to the
aquifer. Further complicating matters were the well
systems operated by Coldstream were, said McKimm, “regrettably
overwhelmed by the sheer mass of waste coming from not only from Mr.
Palfrey’s farm, but other farms in the area which would have run down
into same aquifer.” McKimm mentioned in passing sentence that the
District of Coldstream has “never provided an explanation to this court
as to how the failure took place.” Palfrey declined comment after the proceedings
but his lawyer, Schaefer, said his client started working right away to
remediate the situation when he found out about the contamination, and
worked directly with Ministry of Environment recommendations. “Mr. Palfrey greatly regrets the contamination of
the well and the inconvenience for the affected people in Lavington and
Coldstream,” said Schaefer.
About 3,500 people were notified in January 2010
that the Antwerp Springs well source had been contaminated, and that
they must not drink the water until bacteriological tests are clean. In a press release issued by the district, it
believes that it acted with due diligence in operating the well, and
that extraordinary external circumstances interfered with the district’s
ability to provide potable water. “It is important that the public know that
Coldstream council strongly believe that we would have been completely
successful in defending ourselves on all four of the charges against the
district,” said Mayor Jim Garlick. “However, proving our case in a lengthy and
complex trial could have cost substantially more. Coldstream council
therefore did not believe that defending this charge in court would be a
prudent use of taxpayers’ dollars.” Three other charges against the district were stayed. The wells have since been decommissioned. Palfrey has since sold Pan-O-Ramic Farms to a cherry orchardist and ceased dairy farm operations. The Regional District of North Okanagan is facing
four charges relating to the contamination, and is slated to begin its
trial on the matter in provincial court in January 2013.
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