The City of Fernie has received a $13,395 administrative penalty from the provincial Ministry of Environment and Parks for compliance issues related to the City’s wastewater treatment permit.
The penalty follows a provincial inspection of Fernie’s wastewater system in November 2025 and the resulting Compliance Inspection Report, which the Ministry referred for administrative penalty earlier this year.
The City says in a release that “the process reflects a long-standing gap between the City’s 1994 wastewater treatment permit and how the system operates today, an issue the City has been working with the Ministry to resolve since 2020.”
Major plant upgrades were built in 2015 with Ministry staff sign-off but were never formally added to the permit by the Province.
The City says they completed and applied in October 2025 under the Municipal Wastewater Regulation (MWR).
This is the Province’s modern regulatory framework, which will formally authorize the City’s existing infrastructure and the upgrades needed to meet today’s treatment standards.
The City says they have taken significant action to address the inspection findings and move toward full compliance:
- Approximately $1M has been invested over the past three years in environmental studies, system monitoring, and engineering design in support of MWR registration.
- Work is underway to complete final engineering designs for treatment plant upgrades and to renew efforts to reduce stormwater entering the wastewater system.
- Improved flow-monitoring equipment is being procured and installed.
- Registration under the MWR is anticipated in early 2027. Once granted, the City will have three years to construct the planned treatment plant upgrades, with full compliance targeted by 2030.
Key infrastructure challenges: The City says its current efforts are focused on two related issues: meeting permit compliance requirements and reducing the amount of stormwater entering the wastewater system. Excess stormwater can overwhelm the system’s design capacity, particularly during increasingly intense storms.
The City says the problem is linked to aging pipes and manholes, as well as private properties that direct stormwater or groundwater into the municipal wastewater system.
City response: The City says protecting public health and the environment remains its top priority. It says it will continue working openly with provincial regulators and will keep the community informed as the compliance process moves forward.
To read the full press release by the City of Fernie, click here.
For more information about Fernie’s wastewater system, click here.
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