August 27, 2008

Town of Beaverlodge Sentenced To Pay A $20,000 Penalty For Water Pollution

The Alberta Town of Beaverlodge received a $20,000 penalty after pleading guilty in Grande Prairie Provincial Court to a charge for violating subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act, which protects water frequented by fish from the direct or indirect deposit of any substance that is deleterious to fish.  The penalty includes a fine of $2,000 and a contribution of $18,000 to the Environmental Damages Fund.

The charges resulted from information obtained during an investigation following reports of a brilliant green colour to the water and many dead fish found in Beaverlodge River, west of Grande Prairie, in May 2006.  Lab tests conducted by Environment Canada indicated that the wastewater discharged from the Town’s sewage lagoon was acutely lethal to fish.