METH LAB BILL CLOSE TO $100K

The owner of a property which housed a methamphetamine and ecstasy
lab has been billed close to $100,000 by the District of Maple Ridge.

But the bill hasn't been paid yet, nor has anyone been charged in
connection with the meth lab.

The clean-up bill is the largest issued by the district since its
grow operation, health, nuisance and safety bylaw was crafted in 2004.

"It's a first for us," said bylaws manager Brock McDonald.

Under the bylaw, property owners must pay all costs incurred by the
municipality while dismantling drug labs or marijuana grow
operations. The bill will be tacked onto the owner's property taxes
but McDonald said he will be discussing details with the owner next
week.

The Lougheed Highway property, owned by Surrey businessman Sukhvir
Singh Mann, was raided by RCMP last July.

Police found enough chemicals to blow up four blocks inside the home,
located on an isolated stretch of the highway near Maple Ridge Chrysler.

Traffic came to a standstill for hours as hazardous material teams
secured the site. The task of logging and removing the chemicals took
more than two days to complete.

Ridge Meadows RCMP said the bill for police and the fire department
is more than $43,000.

Approximately 30 RCMP officers were at the scene during the two days,
including 12 auxiliary members, a 10-person emergency response team,
two battalions of firefighters, six staff from the health and welfare
branch and an eight-person hazmat team.

McDonald said the bill almost doubled once the district added third
party costs, which included disposal of the noxious chemicals.

McDonald will be meeting the owner next week to discuss the
costs.

The house on the property is slated for demolition and soil on the
property will have to be remediated and free of contamination before
it is redeveloped.

"The bylaw is to encourage property owners to be more vigilant in
trying to visit the property," McDonald said.

Although one man was arrested when police raided the home, no one has
been charged.

The property owner said last July that he bought the land as an
investment. The home was rented by three people.

In comparison, it cost the district between $12,000 and $15,000 to
dismantle the largest marijuana grow operation found in Maple Ridge
last September.

Police seized 6,800 marijuana plants and 39.2 kilograms (86.5 pounds)
of dried marijuana worth an estimated $10 million from the property
on Cedar Way.