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November 17, 2016 - 2:52 PM
NORTH OKANAGAN - An appeal will be heard in early 2017 into a pair of fines imposed against Tolko Industries and Weyerhaeuser for involvement in a Cherryville landslide.
The slide happened four years ago in a logging area called Cherry Ridge, and resulted in debris landing close to a home.
Following the slide, local residents and politicians pressured the provincial government to release its findings on the cause of the slide. Those reports were finally released last summer after Freedom of Information requests were filed by West Coast Environmental Law, on behalf of Cherryville residents.
Revealed in the documents was a finding by the Ministry of Forests that a lack of properly placed drainage structures directly contributed to the slide.
Resulting from the slide investigation, the ministry imposed fines against two companies responsible for timber harvesting in the area; $14,500 to Weyerhaeuser and $12,000 to Tolko Industries.
Both companies have appealed the fine, and a hearing is now set for March 13 to 17 in Vernon before the Forest Appeals Commission.
Both companies have previously said they are not commenting until the appeal process is complete.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2016