Alex Browne photo Border Feed Lot, at 172 Street and 8 Ave is being looked at as a possible source of the mystery odour that lingered in areas of South Surrey and White Rock Tuesday.

A mysterious odour that lingered in pockets of White Rock and South Surrey this week has led to equally lingering questions about the cause.

The smell – variously described as natural gas, manure or rotten eggs – led to much speculation Tuesday, and concerns that it might be caused by a natural gas leak, which was quickly ruled out by FortisBC.

But comments posted online by residents on the City of White Rock Facebook page – plus comments Tuesday from city information manager Farnaz Farrokhi and from White Rock Fire Chief Phil Lemire – pointed a finger kilometres east, in the direction of a commercial composting operation, Border Feed Lot, at 8 Ave and 172 Street.

Ray Robb, Metro Vancouver environment regulation and enforcement division manager, confirmed Wednesday that his department had received three complaints alleging Tuesday’s odour was linked to the Border Feed Lot site, which has been operating since 1963.

“They compost agriculture waste including manure and mushroom manure,” he said, noting the operation is regularly monitored by Metro Vancouver as a result of past complaints.

While Robb said he could not absolutely confirm that the composting operation was the source of the smell, he said there were strong indications that was the case.

“It’s our understanding that they turned some of those piles (of waste) yesterday – and the wind direction and some other descriptors matched (the reported problems).”

Vern Baird, president of Border Feed Lot and the Baird Cattle Company, did not return calls for comment by press time Thursday, however Peace Arch News spoke to him last May when nearby residents complained about air quality and pollution concerns.

Resident Cynthia Adams had said 50 of her neighbours reported experiencing everything from hives and sore throats to respiratory issues. Residents also said they believed the problems stemmed from a change in practices at the property over the preceding 2½ years.

Baird responded that the only changes on the property in that time had been the return of a few hundred head of cattle, and an increased demand for the company’s products.

Saying he was “frustrated” by the complaints, he noted he was complying with ongoing Metro Vancouver inspection and sampling at the site by provincial officials, “for our own protection.”

“This is a common problem that agriculture has with urban neighbours all the time,” Baird said last spring.

Fortis officials said Wednesday that they had fielded “around 80” calls on Tuesday regarding the odour. Those complaints started to come in around 11:30 a.m. and continued until about 6 p.m., Grace Pickell, Fortis’s manager of communications for major projects, told PAN.

Pickell said crews investigated, however, “we did not find any indication that natural gas was the cause.”

City of White Rock’s Facebook page Tuesday confirmed the odour “is not coming from either a city or Metro Vancouver facility, or the Cherry Point Refinery in the U.S.”

White Rock and South Surrey residents who posted comments on the site indicated that similar problems have been occurring on and off for the last month.

City of Surrey media representative Oliver Lum told PAN Surrey had received a dozen calls about the odour, but had determined that no city facilities were responsible.

He said that while the city had looked into air-quality complaints against Border Feed Lot last May, it usually defers to Metro Vancouver for investigation and enforcement regarding environmental matters.

Robb told PAN that Metro Vancouver gives a lot of leeway to agricultural operations – where smells from manure and other wastes are likely – adding that complaints about particular facilities are assessed on the basis of the “frequency, intensity, duration and offensiveness” of the odours.

But complaints about Border Feed Lot are “getting to the level where we get concerned,” he said, noting the operation was the subject of 175 in 2017.

He added it is the only operation of its kind throughout Metro Vancouver that his division is monitoring regularly – “We don’t have another one that comes anywhere close.”

Robb said that if Metro Vancouver decides a composting plant’s operations are posing a problem, his department would typically work with the company to minimize the impact.

“We might start to explore options,” he said. “You can compost in a way that doesn’t create as much odour, by lowering pile height and mixing in other yard waste to lower the bulk density. If the compost plant mixes in leaves and branches, air gets into the pile easier.”

He said, however, that Metro Vancouver would also defer to the opinion of the Farm Industry Review Board in an ultimate review of practices at an agricultural site, which could be paid for by complainants.

“If they concluded that it is not a normal farming operation, then the kid gloves would be off and we would be looking at a more pro-active approach.”

– with files from Tracy Holmes