(Sperling Hansen Associates, 2023 report)
‘Unauthorized landfill’ on Cowichan Tribes reserve thought to be two decades in the making
Cost to remediate the Indian Road site in North Cowichan estimated in the millions
An “unauthorized landfill” on the Cowichan Tribes reserve on Indian Road in North Cowichan dates back just over two decades, according to a consultant’s report.
The November 2023 report by Sperling Hansen Associates for the Ministry of Environment assessed the waste site using satellite technology.
“Based on very blurry Google Earth Imagery, the subject site appears partially cleared prior to 1985; however, use of the property for disposal of waste materials appears to have commenced in 2004 based on a review of available satellite images from Google Earth.”
The province publicly released the consultant’s report on Monday after a request from sixmountains.ca.
James Anthony Peter, a member of Cowichan Tribes, has received a pollution prevention order that cites large-scale unauthorized dumping of waste material on the reserve.
“These materials are known to release substances of concern,” the provincial order said, including heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese and zinc, hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds.
(Submitted photo, Oct. 7, 2025)
The pollution prevention order dated Oct. 3, 2025, pertains to three lots on Indian Road just above the Cowichan River near Allenby Road Bridge where dumped waste is “likely to release substances that will cause pollution.”
The order requires Peter to cease dumping and to submit a remediation plan to the province for review and approval by November 17.
But it won’t come cheap.
The Sperling Hansen report estimated a cost of $5.3 million to relocate the waste or up to $2 million to consolidate and cap the waste with a “proper geomembrane final cover system” — costs that have only increased over the two years since the report was written.
Cowichan Tribes Chief Cindy Daniels has not responded to a request for comment from sixmountains.ca.
On Monday, Cowichan Valley MLA Debra Toporowski (a Cowichan Tribes member and former Tribes councillor), issued the following statement: “Pollution and dumping can damage ecosystems and pose risks to people, plants, and animals. Our government takes these issues very seriously, and as a local resident and MLA, so do I.”
A citizen later posted on social media receiving the following comment from Toporowski's constituency advisor, Brie Robertson: "Thank you for taking the time to write and share your concerns about the contaminated soil and waste accumulation near the Cowichan River. Debra understands and shares the community’s frustration and concern for the health of the land, water, and all those who depend on it.
"As noted in the recent update from the Ministry of Environment, a Pollution Prevention Order has been issued to the property owner under the Environmental Management Act. This order requires the development of a remediation plan by November 17 for the full removal or engineered closure of the site. Failure to comply may result in enforcement action and penalties under provincial law.
"The Ministry has confirmed that this remains an active compliance and enforcement file, and they will be verifying compliance with the order. While the MLA’s office cannot intervene directly in enforcement matters, Debra will continue to monitor the situation closely and advocate for accountability, transparency, and the protection of the Cowichan River ecosystem."
The Crown entered a stay of proceedings last July 10 against Peter on two counts under the Environmental Management Act related to pollution and waste violations from 2019 to 2023. No reason has been provided for the stay.
Peter also goes by the name, Abby or Abbey, according to court records.
The consultant’s report provided a breakdown of the waste based on seven categories.
(Sperling Hansen Associates, 2023 report)
On the issue of soils, the report said: “The original source areas of the soils are unknown as are the contamination levels. Often soil that is contaminated is sent to landfill because it cannot be deposited at residential or industrial fill sites.”
Soil sampling showed that contamination levels were generally low except for copper and zinc.
The report also noted that household garbage at the site is “likely impacting the digestive tracts” of wildlife such as black bears and bald eagles feeding on the waste.
The landfill is situated about 20 to 30 metres above the Cowichan River and is “without a doubt producing leachate,” the report said, adding that “some 10 to 20 per cent may travel to the river via surface water pathways, and 80 to 90 per cent will likely travel to the river via the groundwater pathway.”
The report estimated a total average annual leachate of 10,099 cubic metres from one of the three lots, mostly generated from October to March.
(Sperling Hansen Associates, 2023 report)
The report added that sites containing construction and demolition waste have a “much higher risk of a major landfill fire” due to arson or spontaneous combustion.
“If not detected quickly, a fire at this site could grow rapidly and once fully involved, would likely cost millions of dollars to extinguish.”
(An article in the Cowichan News Leader Pictorial on July 3, 2013, reported “toxic smoke” coming from a debris fire on the same reserve that filled downtown Duncan for several days.)
A backwater channel on the landfill site is “likely optimal habitat for juvenile fish and invertebrates if connected to the river,” according to the report. "This aquatic habitat is at highest risk of being impacted by leachate….”
Surface water and groundwater discharges to the Cowichan River are less of a threat due to dilution, the report said. But it warned that dilution is not an environmentally “viable solution to pollution because if everyone relied on dilution to solve contamination problems, all of our rivers would be highly polluted.”
Dumping waste material at the Indian Road landfill has saved truckers money.
“Solid Waste in the Cowichan Valley Regional District is shipped off-island to the Roosevelt Landfill in Washington State. Waste is first received at the Bings Creek Transfer Station," the report said.
"The tipping fee at the transfer station is $192 per tonne. Contaminated loads are not permitted and fines may be levied on C&D materials that are not properly sorted.”
The report states that contractors “would find it attractive to dump at this unauthorized landfill site at a tipping fee rate of $100 to $150/tonne which would net them $250 to $500 extra profit on each 5 tonne load of waste.
“Assuming a tipping fee of $100 to $150 per tonne, the estimated 24,000 tonnes of waste deposited at this site could have generated $2.4 to $3.6 million in revenue.”
The three lots are legally considered Cowichan Tribes reserve land, according to the pollution prevention order. Historically, the Peter family claimed the land but did not follow through with the process to be granted a certificate of possession for the lots.
While Cowichan Tribes considers the three lots as land to which the Peter family has access, the family does not control its resources, the order says.
(Ministry of Environment)
A person who fails to comply with a pollution prevention order is liable upon conviction to a fine of up to $300,000 or up to six months in prison, or both.
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— Larry Pynn, Nov. 4, 2025