A feed lot near High River is being ordered to change its management practices after being subject to over 4,600 odour complaints in the last three years.
In a compliance directive issued on Jan. 20, Alberta's feed lot regulator said catch basins at Rimrock Cattle Company Ltd. are contributing to smells that affect rural residents and those five kilometres away in High River.
Phrases like "very high ammonia, rotting flesh and manure, extremely pungent, and vomit-and-headache inducing" are commonly used when complainants describe the smell, the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) said in the directive.
“The simple measure of cleaning out catch basins has not been part of Rimrock’s regular practices,” the directive states.
The NRCB began investigating the Foothills County feed lot in 2022 when enough odour complaints were made for the regulator to send inspectors to the site.
Catch basins were cleaned in the fall of 2022 but not at all in 2023, and the NRCB found that complaints rose 462 per cent when the catch basins were not cleaned out.
“The data suggests that the failure of Rimrock to clean out their catch basins in the spring and fall of 2023 resulted in nuisance odours impacting the town of High River and area,” the directive said.
The design of a catch basin was also identified as a contributing factor to the high number of complaints.
With a two-cell design, the catch basin is about three times larger than it needs to be for the size of the feed lot, allowing excessive odours to leave the operation and likely contributing to complaints, the NRCB said.
The catch basin has not changed in size or shape since Rimrock began to operate the feed lot.
Rimrock has been ordered to no longer use the larger cell and has until May 15 to empty both.
“Catch basins are intended to be kept empty, to fill in cases of rainfall,” the NRCB said.
Other directives include performing semi-annual cleaning of the catch basin and having a plan in place to empty it after major rainfall or when it is at 50 per cent capacity.
Rimrock bought the feed lot in 2019 and installed roller-compacted concrete pens. The concrete pens increase the volume of runoff and the amount of solid manure that makes its way into the catch basins, the NRCB said.
NRCB declined to issue an enforcement order against the feed lot or its directors, saying it was the first enforcement action at the site, however, it said failure to comply could result in further action.
Rimrock Cattle Company Ltd. purchased the land and feeding operation from Rimrock Feeders Ltd in 2024.
A biodigester that would turn waste into renewable energy is proposed for the site, a project the operators say would reduce odours.
