Proposed new measures to protect Richmonds farmland from illegal dumping of material are a step in the right direction, but need to be based on a sustainable funding model.
Thats the opinion of Thomas Loo, a former Agricultural Land Commission employee and Richmond resident.
Loo, who served as the ALCs agricultural compliance and environment officer, said Richmond should enact a bylaw requiring a permit to deposit soil anywhere in the city, not just on property protected by the Agricultural Land Reserve.
He said that approach is a common practice in many communities such as Abbotsford, Langley, and Delta where he previously worked for a decade as that municipalitys assistant environmental control officer.
Essentially, the city collects a fee of 50 cents per cubic metre of material being deposited or extracted (in the case of Abbotsford), as well as the fee for the actual permit, which can range from $25 dollars to $300, Loo told the News.
When I look at the current proposal from Richmond, I think council is missing the boat. They want to collect fees on the fill sites in the ALR, which of course are non-farm uses and generally speaking, not well supported by the ALC, he said.
So, therefore, the only source of revenue for this program of enforcement is a penalty system for the violation.
Richmond held an open house Tuesday at city hall, inviting the public to view the proposal to hire two to three staff members to run a soil protection program. Two new staff would cost $239,000. Three would be $329,000.
The public is also being asked if the status quo, with no additional staff, is the way to go, and if incremental permit fees, and fines for violations of the bylaw should be introduced.
But a potential shortfall in funding, if the program is based on revenue from fines, could eventually erode public support and ultimately result in its discontinuation, Loo said, adding that from his experience, when it is widely known that a community has stringent soil dumping measures and monitoring, violators simply move on to another destination.
To me its simple. Implement a soil permit in all of Richmond and include the volumetric fees, Loo said. When I look around and see the piles of pre-load all over in the non-ALR areas, I just think of the huge amount of money that they could be getting.
For me the answer is yes, the soil cops are needed, but lets fund them in a way that will be sustainable.
Online feedback on the proposals can be made at www.LetsTalkRichmond.ca.
Deadline for submissions is July 29.
