Nova Scotia’s Department of Environment has pressed charges after investigating an alleged unauthorized landfill on a 10-hectare property near Halifax. This investigation involved drone surveillance and the confiscation of equipment. Franklyn Whiley, 79, and his sister, Valerie Whiley, 77, are facing three Environment Act charges and two Solid Waste-Resource Management Regulations charges. Court documents linked to a civil forfeiture case claim that drone footage captured trucks dumping debris and litter in June 2025, which was subsequently buried with an excavator, allegedly involving cash transactions.
The Whileys are accused of allowing the release of litter into the environment and operating an unapproved solid-waste management facility for transferring, processing, or storing solid waste and construction and demolition debris. Additionally, they are charged under the solid-waste regulations for owning, constructing, managing, altering, or modifying a landfill and a construction and demolition debris disposal site without the environment minister’s approval.
Franklyn Whiley mentioned he is still in search of legal representation and refrained from commenting on the accusations. Valerie Whiley, when contacted by phone, also declined to provide any comments. The siblings are scheduled to appear in Halifax provincial court in October, and none of the allegations have been tested in court.
In January, investigators seized a backhoe and excavator belonging to Franklyn Whiley, along with various documents, invoices, receipts, and over $1,000 in cash. They also impounded a $300,000 topsoil sifter owned by construction contractor Arni Lively. However, Lively successfully argued that his equipment was being used legitimately to screen soil at the site, and it had no connection to the alleged landfill, leading to the return of the equipment to him.
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