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Cranbrook, BC (July 14, 2025) – The City has received an administrative penalty in relation to the Monster Truck event held at Western Financial Place in February 2025 from WorkSafeBC (WSBC), that has since been widely reported in the media. The penalty was the result from four orders that were deemed “closed”, meaning no further action was required by the City from WSBC in regard to the Monster Truck event as the event was over and compliance could not be achieved retroactively. The City will continue to make changes for future events based on this order to ensure all concerns are addressed effectively.

Misinformation is circulating regarding the dirt used for the event and about the wastewater lagoon property. The City property with the wastewater lagoons has contaminated wastewater within the impervious clay lined lagoons. The rest of the property is dry land. Joseph Creek also runs through this property, parallel to the lagoons. Contaminated water from the lagoons is contained within the lagoons and piped to the Spray Irrigation Fields east of town. That water does not contaminate Joseph Creek and it does not travel out of the lagoons to the dry land on the same property. 

The dirt used for the Monster Truck event was removed from a natural forested area for a road project extending 30th Avenue to connect to the College of the Rockies. The City’s dirt-handling practices and stockpiling of the material complied with the Environmental Management Plan at the time. This clean dirt was stored on the dry land upstream and at a higher elevation than the lagoons on the same property for four months of cold winter before it was trucked and piled in October, and used for the event in February. The risk of contamination travelling from the lagoons uphill across land to the clean dirt pile during the four months of winter is extremely low.

To follow up the WSBC order and information being shared within the media, the City contracted a specialized testing company to conduct testing of the dirt and send the results to a lab last week. They tested the remaining samples from the same dirt pile that was used for the event where it has been similarly stored from October of last year to today, with months of additional exposure on the lagoon property. This timeline of the pile at the lagoon property now includes spring run-off and warm temperatures that are conducive to survival of the contaminants of concern. The test results of that dirt pile are confirmed to be negative. The dirt is clean. The City also had the air system and seating areas at Western Financial Place tested for contaminants. These tests were also negative.

The WSBC administrative order and penalty was for the City to test dirt used prior to this event. The City is reviewing its testing requirements for events past and future to ensure it meets all regulations and requirements. The media and social media misinformation being spread publicly that the dirt was “contaminated dirt from the wastewater lagoon property” is false.

The City takes the safety of staff and the public seriously and is working with WSBC on this matter, including ongoing work through WSBC’s appeal process. The City will be conducting a separate independent third-party investigation, including before and after the event, to determine the facts. Once the facts are confirmed, the City will be making changes as required, and correcting misinformation and disputing allegations based on the facts from our independent third-party investigation. 

The City will continue to provide updates to the community as this process continues.