 Brandon Jacobsen, Prince George B.C. | “I reviewed your complaint regarding the alleged quarry/gravel extraction happening at 4502 Pyman Road and subsequently Goudie Road, Kelowna. In my review I don’t see any ALCA contraventions present. I’m concerned that the alleged information you’re receiving from residents in the area specifically the pictures may not be accurate to the complaint. Please note accessing private property to take pictures of alleged contraventions will not be utilized by the ALC in its investigations. |
 | “The ALC doesn’t advocate for complainants to trespass onto private property without a property owners’ permission. The ALC considers this matter closed, if you want to provide the names of the residents that are providing you this information about alleged contraventions, please let us know and we can contact them ourselves.” brandon.jacobsen@gov.bc.ca |
ALC complaints to the compliance and enforcement department were up 33% in 2023. Enforcement actions, including penalties, remediation orders and stop-work orders were down 11%. The number of active files rose 29% to 776. Promotion of retards and a chronic high number of staff vacancies are the reasons for incompetence.
 | Mike’s Creek used to run under Goudie Road. The area is now Punjabi wasteland. |
 In January 2022 police were called after the Sandhers obstructed an inspection. | There are 3 records by the MoE starting in 2020, (50.063/-119.4157) (49.875296/-119.2) and (50.4124/-119.262). The first was for tapping crown ground water, the last in late 2022 for diverting Dave’s Creek. Here. |
 Jodie Foster “you have already received a response” | It is Sandher Black Mountain ALR ground, in the Regional District of Central Okanagan. Multiple FoI requests to the RDCO have been denied for failing to provide a precise enough location. Career bureaucrat Ms. Jodie Foster of the RDCO cannot be told where the land is. She is well known for denying FoI requests submitted to the RDCO.  |  (foi.privacy@rdco.com) |
 | Rumors suggest the Sandhers were fined $7k for proceeding with their silt hillside cuts without environmental and geotechnical reports. That will never be confirmed by the RDCO. Location of the 2+ year old water steal is the Dave’s Creek corridor.  |  Haley Oliver – Manager of Communication Services |
In 2020, 4502 Pyman Road in Kelowna sold for something around $18m. The buyer, who is Bir Sandher received a1,500+acre, 11-titled property. Here.
 | The Water Sustainability Act was implemented in 2016 so that streams and aquifers can be managed to keep them sustainable. Groundwater is a shared resource and excessive use for profit will deplete it. Licensing allows measurement of how much water is being consumed and the collection of usage fees. Fines for offenders range to a maximum of $500k. One may check B.C. water licenses without difficulty. HERE. There is not a water license in place for the consumption of ground water at Black Mountain. |
Sandher’s cherry expansion of 343 acres is in Kelowna’s eastern city limits. The ground falls within the Regional District of Central Okanagan and is within the ALR. Residents raised concerns about soil movement, drainage and noise. Its said the slope cuts above Highway 33 to plant the orchard had no geotechnical or environmental studies done. Its also said the Sandhers have piped in water from an unpermitted source and are stealing crown water. Sandher applied to the Black Mountain Irrigation District (BMID) in 2021 to get water to its 1,058 new acres. That triggered an application by BMID to the province to extend its boundaries. It was so ordered on October 23, 2023. According to a MoU, Sandher is required to pay for a 14km pipeline of unknown cost and $4,516.29 per acre to buy in the water rights for agriculture from BMID. That would be $4,777,928. An agreement between the parties is overdue. Expanded Upland Reservoir storage of 2600 ML is needed to service Sandher. Funding for that isn’t spelled out. GP Sandher Holdings Ltd. has plans to plant 650,000 trees.
Highway 33 could be buried in a mudslide, with debris entering Mission Creek, which borders the Westbank first nation Medicine Creek reservation. The area has unstable silt slopes. Landslides and washouts are common.
A landslide caused extensive damage along Highway 33 near Rock Creek in 2018. BMID’s main conduit from Mission Creek to the water distribution system was compromised due to an unstable slope.
 | Prabtaj Sandher was the star in a promotional video for Delta Water Products in January 2023. The water supply system for the 343 acres of cherry trees on Black Mountain was operational then. Drought conditions in BC in 2023 were marked with most of the province at Drought Levels 4 and 5. The Okanagan and Similkameen valleys reached Level 5 in August 2023. The yearly total of precipitation in 2023 was 144.5mm, 37% of normal and the lowest since records began. |
The B.C. Cherry Association’s Sukhpaul Bal was re-elected by acclamation to sit on the Black Mountain Irrigation District board. Bal is closely tied to the Global Fruit cherry cartel of Andre Bailey, which includes Bir Sandher as the dominant producer. Cherry King David Geen is also a trustee of BMID.  |  |
 | Robert ‘Bert’ Hrasko of BMID came up with the bullsh*t … “The annual revenue generated for this for the 1,600 acres in question is: 1,200 acres cherries @ $30,000/acre = $36,000,000, 400 acres apples @ $15,000/acre = $6,000,000, TOTAL REVENUE = $42,000,000” |
 | In 2021 BMID administrator Bert Hrasko opposed a quarry. For this document his expert professional estimate for the value of cherry acreage under BMID was $45k per acre. The entire bumper B.C. cherry market last year was something around $80m from 5100 acres. That is about $15k per acre. Bert Hrasko’s spewing is grossly unreliable and is insulting. Bert Hrasko promised the BMID would approve the quarry if it was located on Bir Sandher’s ALR ground. |
“We have identified a nearby large land-holding that should be considered for a rock and granular material quarry. The G.P. Sandhers Holdings properties, 1500 acres in size, are located on the north side of Highway 33 immediately west of 8-Mile Ranch. These lands are also located above BMID facilities, but with a much greater set back and lower risk of slope failure. BMID is in the process of designing a rock tunnel to safely convey water below these lands. The contact person for G.P. Sandhers is Bob Fisher-Fleming, phone (250) 938-0841. Their land is in the ALR, but with an owner that is one of the largest growers in the region, reclamation of the land back to agriculture would be a requirement by the ALR. BMID would support a quarry at the G.P. Sandhers lands, provided that once mining is completed, the land would then be reclaimed for agriculture.”
 | Citizens in Kelowna are into year 4 of severe drought. Extremely low precipitation compared to normal persists. 2021 was dubbed a “historic drought year” in B.C. Snowpack in 2024 was 60% of average. In April 2024 Kelowna imposed stage 2 water restrictions and capped farmers. |
The City sources its water from Okanagan Lake and provides water to half of Kelowna. 30% of the water going into Okanagan Lake comes from the Black Mountain Irrigation District. The BMID has not imposed restrictions.
The concept of 1600 new acres being put under cultivation in the midst of the most severe drought seen in generations begs a question as to the motivation of conflicted liars like BMID administrator Bert Hrasko and his cherry growing bosses. The City of Kelowna needs to accelerate the takeover of the hugely conflicted BMID for the good of all citizens. If action is not taken, brazen criminals will steal all the water.
SOLD!
