Opposition building to Kelowna, B.C., farm’s application to discharge chemicals

Residents of a Kelowna neighbourhood are gathering support against a packing plant they say is polluting the area.

Ellison residents have started a petition to block an application from Sandher Fruit Packers to the Ministry of Environment that would allow the company to discharge waste from the fruit washing and packing process.

Area resident Alexandra Wright said Sandher’s application, if approved, would give it the right to discharge a host of chemicals — including phosphoric acid, bleach, isopropanol, and resin acids — into a ditch adjacent to its property.

The materials, she said, will spill into “culverts, farmlands and likely aquifers that provide drinking water and irrigation to local farms.”

“The citizens of Ellison are appalled at this application, especially given Sandher’s long history of failing to obtain proper permitting or comply with MOE regulations, and the fact that the water being discharged smells distinctly of sewage – presumably someone at the MOE is in the process of independently verifying the composition of the water being discharged,” she said.

Wright said local residents are hosting a meeting Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in Ellison at 2570 Old Vernon Road. Pamphlets on who to contact and what can be done will be distributed.

“People have felt really disempowered by this situation,” Wright said. “Everybody is talking about it, and nobody has done anything. We want people here to see how many people are feeling the same way.”

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In 2022, the Ministry of Environment levied a $32,000 fine against Sandher Fruit Packers Ltd. for violating waste discharge regulations. According to the ministry, the dates of contravention spanned from Aug. 17, 2019, to April 12, 2022.

“After the cherries and apples are picked, they are taken to the Sandher facility to be washed and packaged,” said the ministry said, referencing the company’s facility at 3231 Old Vernon Rd.

“During the fruit washing process, wastewater is discharged from the facility into (a) disposal field via a septic tank system.”

The ministry said Sandher Fruit Packers does not have authorization to discharge wastewater into the environment.

Calls to Sandher Fruit were not returned as of publication.