Judges dismiss Gwich’in appeal of soil treatment facility licence

The NWT Court of Appeal has dismissed a Gwich’in Tribal Council appeal over the renewal of a water licence for a soil treatment facility in Inuvik.

In July 2024, NWT Supreme Court Justice Karan Shaner rejected the GTC’s request to overturn the Gwich’in Land and Water Board’s 2022 decision to renew the water licence for the facility, which is operated by KBL Environmental Ltd.

The GTC then appealed Shaner’s decision, arguing she had made several legal errors. The tribal council asked the appeal court to quash the NWT Supreme Court ruling and send the matter back to the land and water board for reconsideration.

KBL and the land and water board disagreed, arguing that Shaner’s decision was reasonable and should be upheld.

In a written ruling on Tuesday, a three-judge panel dismissed the GTC’s appeal.

Justices Jolaine Antonio, Jane Fagnan and Mark Mossey found Shaner had not erred in concluding that the land and water board had the jurisdiction to renew the water licence, its decision to do so was reasonable, and neither a public hearing nor a preliminary screening were required to renew the licence.

Among concerns the GTC had raised were compliance issues at the facility, which is located within Inuvik’s dump and receives contaminated soil, water and snow for treatment.

The territorial government inspected the facility in 2022 and found KBL had failed to submit sample results from contaminated snow, water and soil before receiving it, improperly collected and disposed of debris, and had soil piles that were too high, among other issues.

During the appeal hearing, KBL said the land and water board was satisfied it had addressed those issues before renewing the water licence.

The company said “a rigorous testing process” is in place before water is released and no exceedances of contaminants have been identified to date.