On April 30, Urgence-Environnement came to the farm on Chemin Chamberlain after receiving a report concerning a fire on a farm. It was upon arriving that the speaker noticed that “a large quantity of residual materials” had been set on fire, explains the Ministry of the Environment.
The farm owners burned wooden pallets, stumps, rubber mats, toys, scrap metal, plastic bottles, cans, various plastic packaging, various pieces of foam, leftover furniture and agricultural plastic canvases.
However, article 194 of the Regulation on cleaning up the atmosphere prohibits the burning of residual materials in the open air, even to partially recover them, “unless they are branches, trees, dead leaves, explosive products or empty containers of explosive products.”
A notice of non-compliance was therefore sent for this breach a few weeks later. Finally, on August 28, an administrative monetary penalty of $7,500 was imposed on Ferme Melga inc. for the previously mentioned breach “in order to deter any recurrence”.
“It’s starting to get salty”
Joined by The Tribune, one of the owners of the Melga farm, Charles Lanciaux, believes that this is too harsh a sanction.
“The Ministry of the Environment has not been there with the back of the spoon. A fine of $7,500 is still severe enough, I think, to burn some debris. We can’t really refute that either. Yes, we know it’s not good, but there’s no warning, nothing. You have to pay, and that’s it,” he comments.
Certainly, the farm will be careful to comply with the law in the future, he said. “Of course we know that we have to be careful about that and we have done everything to correct the situation. We cleaned everything up and sent everything to the sorting center. It still cost us $5,000 just to send it to the sorting center. That and the fine, it’s starting to get salty cushy.»
According to the ministry, “during this event, certain combustion odors may have been felt by certain individuals in a close radius before the fire was controlled, but the burning of these residual materials was carried out in a remote agricultural area.”
The Melga farm produces milk and maple syrup. It holds organic certification for its maple production, according to Écocert.
The disappointed mayor
The mayor of Saint-Herménégilde, Steve Lanciaux, was not aware of the events when contacted by The Tribune. However, he shown disappointed.
The one who has family ties with the owners of the Melga farm, however, wanted to put things into perspective. “If people don’t follow the regulations, they are responsible for their actions. Even if it’s my sister, my cousins or my aunt,” commented the mayor.
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