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Ontario greenhouse operator fined for use of unapproved stormwater ponds

Golden Acre Farms Inc., a Kingsville-based greenhouse operator, has been convicted and fined $27,000 plus a $6,750 victim fine surcharge for operating sewage works without the required Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA).

The conviction, handed down in Windsor court earlier this year, stems from offences committed over a period beginning January 8, 2021, and ending around May 9, 2023. According to a court bulletin issued by the province, the company has six months to pay the penalty.

The conviction relates to the use and operation of stormwater management ponds at the company’s three greenhouse complexes in Kingsville. In Ontario, stormwater management ponds are considered sewage works and require an ECA before they can be operated.

In October 2022, ministry staff conducted an inspection at the site and observed the three greenhouse complexes to be operational, each serviced by a stormwater management pond. These ponds appeared to be discharging into the Fulmer Drain, which is part of the Lake Erie watershed.

While Golden Acre Farms Inc. had obtained an ECA in 2011 for one of its stormwater management ponds through an engineering consultant, approvals for the other two ponds were never secured. The bulletin clarifies that the company relied on its consultant to obtain these missing approvals.

Despite the absence of the required ECAs, Golden Acre Farms conducted water quality sampling for the stormwater management ponds. These tests indicated no harm to the environment as a result of the discharge to the Fulmer Drain.

In November 2022, Golden Acre Farms submitted ECA applications for the previously unapproved stormwater management ponds. Importantly, the company did not discharge stormwater from these two ponds until the necessary approvals were officially issued in 2023.

The conviction followed an investigation by the ministry’s Environmental Investigations and Enforcement Branch, which laid the charges. (Source: Province of Ontario)