Nobody likes to clean up somebody else’s mess.
And rural municipalities across Saskatchewan are hoping a recent court decision means they won’t have to clean up the mess left when abandoned branch lines are torn up.
In a Jan. 23 ruling, a provincial court judge in Moose Jaw found a rail salvage company guilty of violating a land reclamation bylaw in the Rural Municipality of Excel, located in south-central Saskatchewan.
The victors say the decision could set an important precedent.
“I think it has significance throughout the province,” said RM administrator Merv Guillemin.
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“A lot of RMs are having to deal with the issue of discontinued rail lines and what remains after the salvage companies have left.”
When the judge hands down his sentence on Feb. 14, the RM is hoping to receive a Valentine’s Day present of at least $208,000, the estimated cost of leveling the 21 kilometres of abandoned rail bed and reclaiming it to a usable condition.
Following the guilty verdict, RM lawyer Jeff Grubb told the court that the Pennsylvania-based salvage company Railroad Ventures & Salvage Co. should pay the full cost of the cleanup that remains to be done.
“They didn’t do a lot,” he said in an interview from his office in Regina.
“They took out ties and rail lines and really that was it.”
The RM laid charges against the company in August 1999.
The bylaw in question, which was passed in the spring of that year, requires a salvager to obtain a demolition permit setting out certain requirements for the removal of the track, including removing contaminants, leveling and grading the railbed, and making level crossings safe.
Before the case could go to trial, the company launched a constitutional challenge, arguing that the bylaw was outside the municipality’s jurisdiction.
On May 19, 2000, judge M. D. Irwin rejected the challenge and the case proceeded to trial on Nov. 21. The trial lasted half a day, with the defence calling no witnesses.
In its defence, the salvage company put forward three arguments: the bylaw’s definition of “owner” was too vague; the bylaw was passed by the RM after the rail line had been abandoned; and the charges were laid after the time limit had expired. The judge rejected all three challenges.
Moose Jaw lawyer Lyle Phillips, who represented the salvage company, said no decision will be made on an appeal until after sentencing.
Grubb said he expects the decision to be appealed, since the case sets an important legal precedent.
“There are a number of municipalities that have similar type bylaws,” he said.
“The issues that were canvassed in this particular case will have application in other RMs. It’s a first of its kind.”
