Image Credit: Vintage Views Development Ltd.

A developer behind a South Okanagan subdivision got hit with a $197,000 fine from the Ministry of Environment for a faulty sewage system.

Vintage Views Ltd. got the fine in June, just months after a previous penalty from the province, stemming from years of failures to meet sewage standards set by the province.

The most recent fine marks the largest fine owner Johnny Aantjes has seen yet, as he waits for the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District to buy out the utility.

"At the end of the day, they've got a big stick and they're waving it around," Aantjes told iNFOnews.ca. "The system's working better now than it ever has, but to new standards, of which (the ministry is) in charge, they think there's problems."

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There are roughly 90 homes in the Heritage Hills subdivision northeast of Okanagan Falls. They're generally large and "luxurious," according to ministry documents. Originally planned to have 120 homes, the subdivision is between Penticton and Okanagan Falls on the east side of Skaha Lake.

Its sewage utility has been privately owned since construction started in the area less than 20 years ago, but Aantjes suggested the province is ramping up enforcement to discourage private ownership of sewage utilities.

The province put a stop to any new homes connecting to the sewage system in 2019, claiming the system was overloaded after having overflowed untreated effluent at least three times. The lengthy ministry decision includes numerous failures to test the effluent and details of damage to drainage pits under an orchard.

Effluent flowed onto a nearby road on at least one occasion.

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"I think there's... a push to get private utilities out. I understand that making it public might be good in many ways," he said. "We have some options we're exploring and I think this will get resolved."

One option that's already been initiated is an acquisition by the regional district, which is working to assess the Heritage Hills sewage system before making an offer to Aantjes.

He suggested the regional district will pay around $300,000 for the system, but it's not clear how much the regional district will have to spend to upgrade the current system so it can handle the sewage load and avoid future overflows. That process started in December, but Aantjes expects it could be between six months and a year before they reach an agreement.

"There's been some suggestion over the years that maybe it should be given over for a dollar. I've never agreed to that as a plan, and I think the ministry's helping me with my thinking," he said, having just received the nearly $200,000 fine three weeks before speaking with iNFOnews.ca.

He paid a nearly $20,000 fine to the ministry of environment last year for similar sewage overflow and reporting failures.

The regional district hasn't released any details on its assessment of the sewage system, but did issue a request for proposals for a consultant in February in order to contract out the assessment work.

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