A steel recycling company that has drawn noise complaints in at least one other B.C. community, is now keeping New Westminster residents awake with its racket, according to one local couple.
Oregon-based steel manufacturer Schnitzer Steel processes recycled steel on the Surrey banks of the Fraser River, just 1.2 kilometres as the crow flies from the bedroom window of Joel and Jen Harding in New West’s Victoria Hill neighbourhood.
The couple said they have been jolted awake as late as 3 a.m. by the sound of big piles of scrap steel being dropped, dragged and pushed around by heavy equipment.
“It’s horrible,” Joel Harding said. “It’s so loud it wakes me up in the middle of the night with all our windows closed.”
Neighbours share his frustration, he said.
The couple has complained to Surrey city hall and the RCMP, but they’ve been told local bylaws don’t apply because the company is on Port Metro Vancouver land.
The Hardings contacted that federally regulated body on Sept. 9, but staff there have yet to confirm that Schnitzer is on its land and is, in fact, the source of the noise, despite the Hardings having forwarded them video footage of the company’s noisy, late-night activity.
“We have sent out patrol vessels to investigate the situation, but at this point we cannot conclude the activities are beyond normal activity for that facility,” stated an email from the port authority.
Asked for information about noise thresholds or limits on the hours noise is allowed on Port Metro lands, the port authority stated simply, “Currently, there are no federal thresholds for noise levels for ports.”
If Port Metro determines Schnitzer is on its land, however, and the company’s operations are “irregular,” the port authority said it would work with tenants to resolve or mitigate impacts “if feasible.”
This isn’t the first time Schnitzer has been the target of noise complaints.
In May 2013, downtown Nanaimo residents complained about the late-night racket the company was making there while loading scrap steel into boats in Nanaimo harbour.
Those complaints stopped after the company pulled up stakes for unrelated economic reasons, according to Nanaimo Port Authority staff.
Nanaimo resident Norman Abbey, however, told The Record he wouldn’t bank on the port authority to deal with noise if the company returned.
“Port Authorities across Canada are on such a long leash, that they might as well not be on a leash at all,” he said.
The Hardings, meanwhile, have started an online petition calling for Schnitzer and Port Metro to install sound barriers and for the steel company to start complying with Surrey city bylaws.
“The fact that they’re allowed to make this much noise, particularly all through the night right across the river from a residential area is absolutely ludicrous,” Joel Harding said. “If it was a household, the RCMP would be there in a heartbeat and shut them down.”
Two Schnitzer Surrey managers met with him Friday and told him company assessments found background noise in New West was louder than the din coming from their operation, but agreed to bring his request for noise barriers and an 8 p.m. limit on noise to upper management.
“They were certainly sympathetic but couldn’t commit to anything,” Harding said.
Don Campbell, manager of Schnitzer’s Surrey operations did not respond to repeated media requests.
To see video of Schnitzer’s late-night activity, visit www.change.org/p/schnitzer-steel-stop-the-racket.
