Smelly west Edmonton composter denied permission to stay open until Nov. court challenge
A west Edmonton composting company must stop operating after it was denied a court application to extend permission to remain open.
Cleanit Greenit, which has been operating since 1998, had its registration cancelled by Alberta Environment and Parks in April 2021 and was ordered to close by June 30, 2022.
At that time, the province said more than 800 complaints were made to the ministry about unpleasant odours from the facility in the Winterburn Industrial Area.
The company initiated a court challenge of the province's decision and applied to keep operating in the meantime.
In a written decision released Friday, Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice Kevin Feth dismissed the judicial stay application.
Environment and Parks said in 2021 that inspections of the facility found groundwater contamination and "inadequate" monitoring, in addition to concerns about the acceptance of hazardous waste, liquid-based waste, and the overall annual amount of waste accepted.
- Odour issues prompt city to take composting company to court
- Petition created to stop 'horrible odour' caused by west end composting facility
The environment ministry argued that "harm" to the public would continue should the facility be allowed to operate, including "persistent and offensive" odours, "inappropriate" acceptance of materials, and potential offsite runoff.
The company said it had taken numerous steps to address the odour and other environmental concerns.
"Cleanit Greenit takes issue with these conclusions and contends that its composting facility serves a public good by converting organic waste materials into compost soil, reducing greenhouse gasses, diverting garbage from landfills, and reducing illegal dumping," Feth noted.
"Even if some improvements have occurred, the changes are too little and too late," he added. "The evidence shows persistent and pronounced environmental and regulatory problems when the Cancellation Decision was made and during the time since then."
The review of the province's decision to cancel Cleanit Greenit's registration is scheduled for Nov. 9, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.