UPDATE: 2:50 p.m.

A Spallumcheen group committed to safe drinking water in the Hullcar Valley hopes documentation, that the environment ministry has been ordered to release, will show how much effluent is being sprayed on farmers' fields, one in particular.

“The soil test results should reveal whether the Ministry of Environment allowed too much effluent to be spread on the field of concern or not,” said Al Price, spokesperson for Save the Hullcar Aquifer Team.

Price said one expert opinion suggested “one of the applications was twice the nitrogen level that is recommended.”

Price also took a swipe at the ministry for having to be forced to release the information.

“What continues to baffle us is why the government is fighting so hard to protect agribusiness and appears to be willing to sacrifice public health to continue to do so. The Hullcar Valley has become a sacrifice zone of more than 350 people, including members of the Splatsin Nation, private well owners and farms on the Steele Springs Waterworks District.”

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UPDATE: 11:58 a.m.

B.C. New Democrats say Spallumcheen residents should not have had to fight for information about the safety of their drinking water.

On Wednesday, the Information and Privacy Commissioner ordered the Ministry of Environment to release soil test results and other associated documents related to the contaminated Hullcar aquifer. Water from the aquifer has been tainted with cancer-causing nitrates.

“The commissioner’s report vindicates residents of Spallumcheen and the Splatsin First Nation,” said NDP environment critic George Heyman. “Local families have not been able to drink their water for two years because of the pollution of their aquifer. Yet, they had to fight for scraps of information from the Christy Clark government about their own drinking water.

“The Information and Privacy Commissioner made it clear that this information is in the public interest and should have been proactively disclosed.

“The Minister of Environment was not transparent, she didn’t respect residents’ deep concerns about their contaminated drinking water, and locals are still unsure whether the measures that the ministry is taking will be adequate.”

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Original story

The Ministry of Environment has released soil test results and other associated documents related to the contaminated Hullcar aquifer in Spallumcheen – after being ordered to do so.

Some 200 people who get water from the aquifer have been on a water quality notice for more than two years because of high nitrate levels in their drinking water. Nitrates can increase the risk of cancer according to experts.

The documentation was released under the order of B.C.'s Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham.

Denham began an investigation in February, after receiving a complaint from the Environmental Law Centre (ELC) alleging the environment ministry was required to proactively disclose information related to the water quality in the aquifer under the Freedom of Information Act.

The complaint also alleged the ministry did not make every reasonable effort in responding to their initial access request.

"Section 25(1)(b) requires public bodies to proactively disclose information that is clearly in the public interest. In this case, it is clear that the ongoing risk to clean drinking water in the Hullcar Valley constitutes a matter of public interest,” said Denham. “Residents have been under a water advisory for two years; in order to restore public confidence in the measures undertaken by the ministry, residents should have access to the soil test results and analysis that support those measures.”

The information has been made available to the Save the Hullcar Aquifer Team in Spallumcheen, according to spokesperson Al Price.

“I'm sitting at my computer about to go through it,” Price said. “It means we'll finally get a chance to see why the Ministry of Environment approved four compliance orders," allowing a large dairy operation to spread effluent on its field.

Many local area residents blame that operation for nitrates leaching into the drinking water.

In May, the province finally took some action by issuing pollution abatement orders to several operations, including the Jansen Farm, which would stop the manure spraying.

The commissioner ordered the ministry to disclose soil test results and nutrient management plans that:

• form the basis for the authorization of the application of liquid manure to the Jansen Farm subsequent to the March 6, 2014, compliance order; and
• are required by any compliance, inspection, information, or pollution abatement or prevention orders with respect to nitrate levels in the soil that may leach into the Hullcar aquifer. This order will remain in effect until the water quality advisory issued for the Hullcar aquifer by the Interior Health Authority is rescinded.

“The ministry accepts the commissioner’s order to release all soil test results and nutrient management plans going forward. This includes disclosure of the Jansen Farm nutrient management plan we believed we could not release due to federal copyright laws,” said Environment Minister Mary Polak. "The ministry also accepts the recommendation to ensure all staff are properly trained to respond to access for information requests under the Freedom of Information (Act).”

The commissioner found the ministry failed to make every reasonable effort to assist the ELC with their access requests.

"Public bodies need to aid applicants throughout the freedom of information process. Applicants should never have to defend their motives for requesting information," said Denham. "This report is a reminder to all public bodies about their many obligations to the public under B.C.'s access and privacy laws.”

The disclosure of information related to water quality in Spallumcheen is available for download online.

Meanwhile, Polak said the government is working with the local community and taking "all necessary actions to ensure the residents of Spallumcheen have safe drinking water, while preserving the region's agriculture economy."