Alberta farmers push back after scrap metal salvager sets up on agriculture land

Allan Jenkins recalls exploring scrapyards when he was a kid but it's not an experience he wants for his grandchildren when they visit the family farm in Athabasca County. 

However, after a neighbouring property was purchased by a scrap metal service provider, the scenario became worryingly real. Now Jenkins is hoping that a rezoning application will be defeated, to remove the threat along with mounds of metal stacked near his land. 

Jenkins lives the community of Amesbury, about 220 kilometres north of Edmonton. Last December, a property next to Jenkins' farm was sold to W.I.L. Demolition & Salvage, a Saskatchewan-based scrap metal business with sites in Yorkton, Sask., and Edmonton. 

In March, Jenkins headed out on a trail through a wooded part of his land to investigate the source of noise that his wife had heard. 

"When you broke through the trail, there was this mound of steel sitting there," Jenkins said.

He said there was also piping, cables, insulation and a pile of vehicles within feet of his fields. 

"I just went, 'Hey, wait a minute. This is not right. You guys shouldn't be doing this, especially in this area,'" Jenkins said. 

Jenkins fears runoff contaminants from the industrial site could affect nearby residents, farms and wildlife. He said noise and the safety of his 25 grandchildren who visit the family farm are also a concern. 

A land survey done in May showed the company had also driven onto his property and stored steel there, he said. 

CEO acknowledges mistakes

The company's CEO, Walter Strutynski, said that the company began moving scrap metal onto the site in February, in violation of the property's agricultural zoning. He also said some activities on site did cross Jenkins property line. 

"This is on me,"  Strutynski said in an interview with CBC News. 

"I wish I would have done a little bit more research, but we can't change the past, we just got to deal with the present." 

Athabasca County received a complaint regarding the property in April. An application to rezone the property from agricultural use to light industrial was submitted by W.I.L. in June. 

The rezoning application was the subject of a July 27 public hearing to invite feedback from residents and other stakeholders. A petition against the rezoning presented to the county council received 181 signatures. 

Issues raised at the public hearing included disturbances from noise, environmental concerns and the potential for deterioration of the gravel road and the need for additional dust control.

Strutynski said that if the rezoning application is successful, set operating hours will help control noise issues and noted that the company deals only with three vendors that sell "clean products." 

"We uphold ourselves to a high level of quality and so do the vendors we deal with," Strutynski said. 

"We're not looking to get a free ride. You know, if that means increased taxes and some dust control to keep your neighbours happy, we're more than willing to work with everybody." 

Alberta Malcolm raises cattle north of the property owned by W.I.L. and would like to see the property remain zoned for agriculture. 

"There's lots of spots in Athabasca County that would suit one of these facilities," Malcolm said. 

Malcolm said she worries about the possibility of contaminants making their way into the ecosystem, potentially impacting a nearby woodland caribou range. 

"If they have a leak, who's going there to police that?" Malcolm said. 

"Why are we putting a facility like this into an area where we're trying to protect an animal that is on the verge of extinction?" 

Following the public hearing, Athabasca county council tabled second reading on the rezoning application until August 31.