A former Wainfleet-based modular home company and its director, Albert Rumph, were recently fined for Environmental Protection Act and Ontario Water Resources Act violations under the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks.
In a Welland courtroom, 2390364 Ontario Ltd. and Rumph were convicted of: operating, establishing, or altering a sewage works without Ministry approval; discharging contaminants into the natural environment which caused or was likely to cause an adverse effect; and failing to comply with a Ministry order by failing to submit a written report by a professional engineer following the assessment of a sewage works.
The offenses occurred on or about September 26, 2018, ending on or about June 21, 2021. The penalties imposed for the three violations include fines of $75,000, payable over two years. As part of the sentencing, the court issued an order to the defendants to come into compliance with the Ministry order until it is either amended or rescinded.
Southlands Village is a modular home community located on Highway 3 in Wainfleet. Southlands was owned by 2390364 Ontario Incorporated, of which Albert Rumph has been the director since 2013. Rumph had day-to-day control of Southlands’ operations, including the site’s sewage works, which includes three septic beds.
Modular homes — also known as factory-built, pre-fabricated, or system-built homes — are residences that have sections built in a factory, rather than on the home site. The sections, or modules, are transported to the construction site and installed on permanent foundations.
An environmental compliance approval (ECA) is required to operate septic systems. In 2004, an ECA was issued for the west sewage bed, however no ECA has been issued for the east or north beds. Between April 9, 2019, and December 31, 2019, Rumph and his company made alterations to the east and north septic beds, and began to reroute sewage to the west septic bed. An ECA had not been issued to approve the alterations to the east and north beds, and the new mode of operation violated the conditions of the ECA for the west bed.
Further, on one occasion between September 26, 2018, and December 31, 2019, Rumph and the company operated the septic system in a manner that caused contaminants to be discharged into the natural environment, namely sewage and odours, which caused or was likely to have caused adverse effects.
On March 24, 2020, the Ministry issued an order to Rumph and his company requiring that he address several issues related to the sewage works. One of the conditions of the order required him to retain a professional engineer to assess the unapproved and poorly maintained septic systems at the site, and draft a report outlining the results, as well as a plan to bring the sewage works into compliance. The order required the report to be submitted to the ministry by September 15, 2020.
As of June 21, 2021, the report had not been submitted to the Ministry. The Ministry’s Environmental Investigations and Enforcement Branch investigated, and laid charges which resulted in three convictions.
Rumph did not respond to a request by PelhamToday for comment on the court decision.
Correction: Updated Nov. 29 to note that Albert Rumph and 2390364 Ontario Ltd. no longer own or manage Southlands Village. Southlands is now owned by Tasbra Communities, which has no affiliation with the previous owner or numbered company. Natasha Nolan, the property manager for the organization, said that they are in the process of addressing the issues raised by the Ministry, and are planning for expansion. Tasbra operates a number of similar communities throughout southern Ontario.
