Okanagan developer hasn't fixed sewage outflow issue for years
A South Okanagan developer still hasn't fixed its overflowing septic fields despite years of orders and fines from the province.
Vintage Views Development Ltd was handed a $19,300 penalty from the Ministry of Environment in April, then ordered to submit plans to fix the sewage plant by Oct. 28, according to an order issued to the company Sept. 22.
This came after at least three years of action by the province. New plans still haven't been submitted to the province, according to a ministry employee.
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The ministry has been keeping tabs on the development since 2013, but it ramped up enforcement efforts 2019 when effluent spilled across a road in November 2019, according to an order against the developer from the Ministry of Environment.
Vintage Views is on the east side of Skaha Lake, north of Okanagan Falls. It's in the Heritage Hills area and features a mix of large single family homes and vineyards.
The Ministry of Environment inspected an effluent spill across Parsons Road on Nov. 13, 2019, where septic pits under an orchard breached the ground and poured down the hill, over the road.
In February 2021, the ministry blocked any future connections to the sewage system in order to stem future demand on its failing system, effectively blocking any future developments.
Ministry compliance officers inspected the property again in May of this year, where they found the orchard was replaced with a vineyard. Sewage from the treatment facility continues to breach the ground.
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"The specific substance being introduced into the environment is effluent from a secondary sewage treatment facility. The usefulness of the environment has been altered or impaired due to the presence of effluent in the vineyard," the order reads.
While the sewage is treated, ministry inspections found the quality exceeded water quality guidelines and groundwater has not been monitored at the site.
Sewage surfaced at least two more times since the 2019 inspection and ran down the hill toward Parson Road, but those were not reported to the ministry, according to the report.
The company, which is owned by Penticton developer Johnny Aantjes, may face more penalties from the ministry. More fines are under review, according to the order.
The new orders include a requirement that Vintage Views submit a plan to replace or repair its wastewater treatment system and another calculating its current and future demand.
Those orders were given a deadline of Oct. 28, which hasn't been met. However, a third order to provide a final planning package for the sewage system by June 13, 2023 was included, so it's unclear whether the developer will face any new fines yet.
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