Problems with septic bed leads to $8K fine for owners of Sault mobile home park

A mobile home is seen in this file photo. (File)

A numbered company that owns a 32-trailer mobile home park in the Sault has been fined $8,000 for violating the Ontario Water Resources Act.

In addition to the fine, the company has 12 months to bring the park into compliance with the act.

Problems date to 1971 when the park was granted “temporary” approval for its septic system.

The company purchased the Rosedale Trailer Park in February 2015.

“The trailers at the site discharge into 11 septic tanks and three septic beds. One of those three septic beds receives sewage from 28 trailers,” said a news release from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.

“Since 1971, the ministry has not received any applications for ministry approval for the sewage works, aside from one application in 2006 which was returned because it was ‘grossly incomplete.’”

After 2442259 Ontario Inc. purchased the park, ministry officials visited in October 2016 to conduct an inspection.

“At that time, the ministry requested that the company participate in voluntary abatement and submit a completed sewage works application by Sept. 1, 2017,” the release said.

“The company did not submit the application.”

Sewage system was failing

In May 2019, the company reported that the septic system was failing and raw sewage was “rising to the surface.”

“The company subsequently retained professional services to pump out the septic tanks on a weekly basis,” the release said.

In June 2019, the company was ordered to install a new sewage system and was told to get ministry approval before work began.

“During a subsequent ministry inspection in November 2019, the sewage system was observed to have been modified, however the company had still not submitted a sewage works application,” the release said.

New orders were issued in March 2021 to submit a new plan for the sewage system, but in May 2021, the company reported the sewage system had failed again.

At this point, the company had both failed to submit plans for a new septic system or provide a copy to ministry staff.

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“At the time of conviction, neither of the work order items had been completed,” the release said.

“The ministry’s Environmental Investigations and Enforcement Branch investigated and laid charges which resulted in the convictions.”