A number of residents who live near a New Brunswick potato chip factory are taking legal action after alleging significant disruptions to their quality of life.
The lawsuit, which names Covered Bridge Potato Chips Ltd. as the respondent, claims the company’s facility in Woodstock, located about 100 kilometres west of the capital Fredericton, has created persistent conditions that have negatively and substantially affected nearby homes and properties.
The suit alleges ongoing impacts and safety concerns, including excessive noise, industrial odours, and intense lighting that has affected the comfort in their homes.
In addition, the residents said in the complaint filed by New Brunswick law firm Chiasson & Ro that natural vegetation, which acted as a buffer between industrial operations and residential areas, has been removed.
Lived ‘peacefully for generations’
Many of the residents involved in the legal matter have lived in the neighbourhood for decades, with several having residing there for more than 50 years, the claim says.
“These are not new homes built beside an established industrial site,” Melody Hannah, one of the residents, said in a statement.
“Many of us have lived here peacefully for generations. The unexpected scale and intensity of industrial activity now taking place have fundamentally changed daily life in our neighbourhood for the worse.”
The company did not respond on Wednesday to a request for a comment on the allegations.
Fire destroyed a different facility
In the suit, residents say they had believed the Woodstock facility would be temporary after a fire destroyed the company’s previous operation in Waterville.
However, the factory has since evolved into a permanent, high-intensity industrial operation, the suit alleges.
One of the safety concerns area residents outlined in the legal action is the addition of a 30,000-litre propane tank, which fuels the new facility’s additional fry cookers.
Residents said the legal claim was filed as a last resort, alleging repeated efforts to resolve the matter through municipal and provincial channels failed to produce any meaningful changes.
“We support economic development,” said Robert Harrison, another resident. “The goal is not to oppose business or employment, but to protect long-established neighbourhoods from excessive industrial intrusion. The Covered Bridge Potato Chip Ltd. plant is simply in the wrong place.”
Sold across North America
Covered Bridge describes itself as a fourth generation family business located in Hartland, N.B., which is home to the longest covered bridge in the world.
In 2004, brothers Ryan and Matt Albright started their own potato distribution company and bought the family farm. Five years later, they launched Covered Bridge Potato Chips, which are now sold across North America.
