 | Citizens are burning about an application to dump wastewater from a non-compliant packing plant in Kelowna and are preparing a submission to the MoE. (Milanpreet.Kaur@gov.bc.ca) Some are making their displeasure known to Prabtaj Sandher, eldest son of Bir Singh Sandher and face of Sandher Fruit Packers. (prabtajsandher@gmail.com)  |  |
 |  |   Costco buys large quantities of Sandher apples and cherries as does Real Canadian Superstore. (Loblaws) |
 | Citizens concerned about the dumping of chemicals by recidivist Sandher Fruit Packers Ltd. may show their support with a petition. It will be presented to the MoE. Here.  |
 | The MoE report of Feb 2, 2024 contains photos of Sandher’s sewage field. This is the same sewage field used since 2017 to offload 57,000 liters of waste water per day.  |  |
 | An inspector points out the pooling of sewage. The sewage system is overloaded and leaching. The photo was taken weeks before the Sandher’s next discharge was caught on video around February 6, 2024. NEVER have the Sandhers had a waste discharge permit. For 6 years they discharged wastewater into a ditch along Old Vernon Road. Their next fine for polluting is any day. HERE.  |  |
 Bir Sandher explained the economic aspects of his illegal operation in Jan 2021 to MPs. | Tako VanPopta, Langley—Aldergrove (Tako.VanPopta@parl.gc.ca) and Tracy Gray, Kelowna—Lake Country. (Tracy.Gray@parl.gc.ca) got free apples at the photo op. |  In March 2017, the MoE issued its 1st warning letter to Sandher at 3231 Old Vernon Road. The Sandhers applied for an effluent discharge permit in March 2018 but abandoned it. |
| Video of the Sandher’s latest offense was posted February 6, 2024. Residents of the rural community of Ellison are complaining again about the stench of sewage. Residents point to Sandher Fruit Packers Ltd. In 2022, the Ministry of the Environment levied a $32k fine against Sandher for violating waste discharge regulations and ignoring warnings. The $32k fine was paid Aug. 23, 2022. That didn’t stop their growing discharge of industrial waste. |
| An inspector was told 57,120 liters per day of waste water is produced by the plant operating five days a week. 4 chemicals are used in processing, including phosphoric acid. Sodium hypchlorite is liquid bleach, Acidx Dual is a cleaner used to remove natural wax so that a coating of Shield-Brite® can be applied. Shield-Brite® AP-450 is a shellac-based coating. “Sandher had been found discharging wastewater into a failing septic system and an unlined lagoon while operating without an authorization… during four previous inspections” Construction began without the company submitting engineered drawings and site plans. |
 Sandher Fruit Packers Ltd. was ordered to stop building it’s huge plant in 2019 because it failed to obtain permits. It took 2 stop work orders. |  Sandher Fruit Packers was issued 3 fines, a maximum $150 each, for failure to obtain building permits. |  Prab Sandher said the plant had to get built before cherry season. |
 Bir Sandher moved from Punjab as a teenager in 1982. | In February 2018 the Sandhers received a $575 fine for an unauthorized discharge. Last inspection on February 2, 2024 recommended more fines for Sandher’s years of non-compliance. |  |
| Despite never having waste discharge authorization the Sandhers are expanding. Their cherry operations have expanded into wine growing areas. The cherry orchard expansion, 343 acres, is on land owned by G.P. Sandher Holdings Ltd. It has applied to the Black Mountain Irrigation District to get water to 1,000 acres of its land.  Once the cherry trees are planted, it takes 4 years to start getting a crop and 6 years for a full crop. |  Last summer the Sandhers started selling cherries into South Korea. |
 | Latest for the Sandhers is an application to offload their copious chemical waste directly into a stream. No, we aren’t making this up.  Leading chemical is Shield-Brite® which is an antifungal agent and coating used instead of chlorine to stop surface rot. |    |
 | “Do not discharge into sewers, lakes, streams, or other bodies of water.” Previously this waste was flushed into the sewage system. That inadequate system is breaking down completely again, something neighbors know well. |
 Mill Creek | “During the fruit washing process, wastewater is discharged from the facility into (a) disposal field via a septic tank system.” The Sandhers have known all along they have never had authorization to discharge their growing volumes of industrial waste water. Waste water in Sandher ditches ultimately leads to Simpsons Pond and Mill Creek and will damage fish-bearing ecosystems. |
Gangsterism Out 