Placement of fill in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) is regulated to varying degrees depending on the end use of the land. In recent years concerns have been raised on how effective fill placement has been both within the regulatory regime and at the onsite management level. These concerns are partly fueled by the perception that significant financial incentives (tipping fees upwards of $200 per truck) are driving fill applications on agricultural land. The issue has generated discussions between the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC), Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), local governments, provincial agencies, and the agriculture industry on how to better manage fill placement such that its use is beneficial.
The key objectives of this investigation were to evaluate the outcomes of previously approved ALC applications for placement of fill within the MVRD; identify the factors that contributed to the positive and negative outcomes of placement of fill in the ALR; and, recommend management practices and policy development/legislative changes that could be adopted to ensure that placement of fill in the ALR provides benefits to the agricultural capability of the land.
