The City of Cranbrook is pushing back against allegations stemming from a significant fine levied by the province's health and safety regulator following a monster truck event held at Western Financial Place earlier this year.
Following the event, WorkSafeBC conducted an investigation and initiated a $175,000 fine, which the city is appealing while also conducting its own independent third-party investigation.
The fine was a result of four cited violations under the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, according to WorkSafeBC.
While the independent investigation and the appeals process gets underway, the city will pay the fine in the interim in order to avoid any interest penalties incurred by not immediately paying it, which accrues monthly at one per cent.
In a statement released following a city council meeting on Monday, July 14, the city disputed the WorkSafeBC allegations that the dirt used for the event was contaminated, and insisted it was actually clean fill from the 30th Avenue reconstruction project that was stored on the same property as the wastewater treatment plant.
Samples taken from the dirt pile where the dirt was stored on the property were sent to a lab for testing, with results coming back clean, according to the city.
"They tested the remaining samples from the same dirt pile that was used for the event where it has been similarly stored from October of last year to today, with months of additional exposure on the lagoon property," reads the statement. "This timeline of the pile at the lagoon property now includes spring run-off and warm temperatures that are conducive to survival of the contaminants of concern. The test results of that dirt pile are confirmed to be negative."
In the statement, the city provided an explanation and further context about where the dirt was stored on the lagoon property.
"The city property with the wastewater lagoons has contaminated wastewater within the impervious clay lined lagoons. The rest of the property is dry land. Joseph Creek also runs through this property, parallel to the lagoons. Contaminated water from the lagoons is contained within the lagoons and piped to the Spray Irrigation Fields east of town. That water does not contaminate Joseph Creek and it does not travel out of the lagoons to the dry land on the same property.
"The dirt used for the Monster Truck event was removed from a natural forested area for a road project extending 30th Avenue to connect to the College of the Rockies. The City鈥檚 dirt-handling practices and stockpiling of the material complied with the Environmental Management Plan at the time. This clean dirt was stored on the dry land upstream and at a higher elevation than the lagoons on the same property for four months of cold winter before it was trucked and piled in October, and used for the event in February.
"The risk of contamination travelling from the lagoons uphill across land to the clean dirt pile during the four months of winter is extremely low."
The city notes clean results also came back from tests within the Western Financial Place air system and seating areas.
According to the WorkSafeBC report, the regulatory contravention was that the dirt was not tested prior to the event, which triggered the health and safety enforcement process.
The city's latest statement did not address some of the other specific issues raised in the WorkSafeBC report, namely the high levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide inside the arena, nor the allegations that the ammonia alarm was disabled.
The city says it will continue to update the community as the process moves forward.
"The city takes the safety of staff and the public seriously and is working with WSBC on this matter, including ongoing work through WSBC鈥檚 appeal process. The city will be conducting a separate independent third-party investigation, including before and after the event, to determine the facts.
"Once the facts are confirmed, the city will be making changes as required, and correcting misinformation and disputing allegations based on the facts from our independent third-party investigation."
