St. Albert to fine builders more for not properly storing garbage

Builders in St. Albert could face thousands of dollars in fines for not storing garbage properly. CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny has more on the new rules.

Builders in St. Albert could now face thousands of dollars in fines for not properly storing garbage after the city changed its rules to stop the spread of debris.

With new homes being built in St. Albert’s north and west sides, there’s more garbage flying into natural areas.

Now, all garbage from construction sites must be placed in covered dumpsters after the city changed the construction debris section of its community standards bylaw.

Materials must also be stored in an orderly manner within property lines.

Peace officers will be the ones enforcing the new rules.

“You have wildlife that use these stormwater ponds, and then the debris is blowing in from these construction sites,” said peace officer Garnet Melnyk.

If the bylaw is broken, a builder could face a fine of $1,000 per day until the issue is resolved or if the city has to clean up the mess, the cost of which could be added to the business’s taxes.

Melnyk said peace officers also have the ability to revoke their business license.

Brett Bolokowy brought his concerns regarding the litter to council’s attention last year, now he sits on the city’s environmental advisory committee.

“As time went on, houses would go up and garbage would continue to pour in,” Bolokowy told CTV News Edmonton. “I can’t be the one-man clean-up crew for developments across St. Albert.”

While he’s happy to see the changes to the city’s bylaw, he believes more can be done.

“Things like security deposits and amending our agreements with developers to use the same sorts of tools that they use when they need to police their builders,” he said.

A motion at city council that would have put those additional rules in place failed in April.