Samborski calls Manitoba Conservation search of property 'bullying'

Several Manitoba Conservation trucks were parked atSamborskiEnvironmental Ltd.'s commercial composting site just outside Winnipeg Wednesday afternoon, in a move that a company official calls a"bullying tactic."

Numerous conservation enforcement officers were seen on the property on Wednesday morning.One officer told the CBC's Chris Glover thata search warrant is being executed, something PaulSamborskialso confirmed.

We were served with a search warrant this morning.A search warrant," saidSamborski. "I don't know what they're looking for or if they're looking for a cache of weapons, or nuclear weapons or what, I mean, we're a soil dealer."

MarianneMaes, who lives next to theSamborskifacility, said she was walking her dog at around 9 a.m. when she saw about a dozen white Manitoba Conservation vehicles lined up on the road outside the composting site.

"There's people standing there in dark uniforms, but I could see vehicles there and there's, I guess, the Conservation people," she said.

Maessaid it's not the first time she has seen Manitoba Conservation vehicles at the composting facility, but she had not seen so many of them there before.

Samborskisaid the company sent 160 truck loads of composting materials to a nearby site by the Brady Landfill.

"We've complied! All of what would be deemed offensive material is takenoffsite," saidSamborski.

SamborskiEnvironmental and the provincial government have been in a spat over the commercial composting facility onMcGillivrayBoulevard, just southwest of Winnipeg in the Rural Municipality ofMacdonald.

The province issued its first environmental protection order in 2013, whichSamborskithen appealed. But on October 2014, a court decided the provinces order was appropriate and a new protection order date was set for last Dec. 1.

The order stipulated the companywas to stop accepting as well as remove existing composting materials from its property.

• Manitobacomposterin spat with province over smelly site
• Compostergiven until Dec. 1 to clean up its act

The province has said it received more than 500 complaints since 2009 about foul smells coming from the compost site.

The company, who has been in a zoning battle with the RM of McDonald for around a decade,hasmaintained that their land is licensed for composting and the operation is properly managed.

The province saidthe RM of McDonaldwon an earlier court case arguingSamborski'ssite isnot licensed for composting.Samborskiis appealing that verdict and taking the RM of McDonald to court on Jan. 28, citing "bad faith"for trying to hide the proper zoning of the property from the company.

'Bullying tactic':Samborski

PaulSamborski, the company's general manager, told CBC News thataccording to the search warrant, 22 officers are looking for evidence to further prosecute the company a move that he called a "bullying tactic," adding that he has complied with the government's protection order.

I was hoping by now thisSamborskistuff is over because it's been going on and on and on and it's like never-ending.-MarianneMaes

It is a lot of staff, but there's a lot of work to be done, saidLabossiere. The bullying thing, I'm not even going to comment on. We are exercising a search warrant we legally obtained."

Labossiereexplained that because the warrant only lasts 24 hours, and due to the volume of material workers have to go through on the site during that period of time, conservation decided it needed a big team of employees to get the job done.

We still have an invitation toGordMackintosh, the minister of cowardly affairs.- PaulSamborski, SamborskiEnvironmental

"We have one day to complete the search warrant. It's an outdoor activity; there are a number of piles that require sampling and as such we needed a fair amount of personnel power in order to make sure we got all the sampling."

In an email to CBC News, a provincial government spokesperson wrote,"Staff from Conservation and Water Stewardship have been monitoring the cleanup efforts bySamborski, and are continuing to keep close tabs on the cleanup and removal process.

"Part of that process includes an examination of company records and taking samples of product still at the site and while we are determined to give the company every opportunity to comply with the Director's order on its own, if it is determined that the company is not able to get the work done on its own, the province will take the necessary steps to remove the compost at the expense ofSamborskiEnvironmental."

Maessaid she hopes the presence of the Manitoba Conservation vehicles at theSamborskifacility is a sign that the issues with the company are ending.

"I was hoping by now thisSamborskistuff is over because it's been going on and on and on and it's like never-ending," she said.

"But time will tell because enough is enough. Like, how much longer can it go on? It's been going on long enough. Like, it's been eight years, plus."

Samples gathered at the scene will be sent away and analyzed to see whether the company is violating itspermits. The results could take weeks to process, but could then be used in court as evidence againstSamborski.

Under the environmental act, the province has a year to process the samples and carryout its investigation. Ifcharged and convicted with violating the 2014protection order and terms of its permits,SamborskiEnvironmentalcould face a fine of up to $500,000.

Either way, the company still needs anew site licensefromconservation somethingSamborskisaidthey haven't heard back from Minister of ConservationGordMackIntoshabout yet.

"We still have an invitation toGordMackintosh, the minister of cowardly affairs," said Samborski.

Read the search warrant againstSamborskiEnvironmental obtained by the province below: