Harvest Operations Corp. Pleads Guilty and is Fined $125,000 for Causing Death to Migratory Birds

MEDICINE HAT, Alb. -- November 19, 2010 -- Harvest Operations Corporation of Calgary, Alberta, was fined $125,000 after pleading guilty yesterday in provincial court in Medicine Hat, Alberta, to one count under subsection 5.1(1) of the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, for the deposit of a substance harmful to migratory birds in waters or an area frequented by birds. This fine will be paid to the federal Environmental Damages Fund (EDF).

Approximately 14,500 litres of crude oil were discharged at an oil well site near Ralston, Alberta, on September 8, 2008, due to a bridge plug failure and improperly sealed well bore. The spillaffected 1,200 square metres of land near Ralston. The spill site is in the southwest corner of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield and is approximately 48km from the CFB Suffield National Wildlife Area.

An investigation by Environment Canada and Alberta Sustainable Resources Development discovered that about 300 birds including migratory birds, songbirds and raptors died by landing in the spilled product. No waterways were impacted.

Environment Canada enforces federal wildlife and environmental laws including the Canada Wildlife Act, the Species at Risk Act, the pollution provisions of the Fisheries Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act as well as the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (1999). These laws help ensure that companies, government departments and agencies, and the public comply with legislation and regulations protecting the environment and conserving nature.

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