Twin Rivers Paper Fined $320,000 for Fisheries Act Offences

 

Twin Rivers Paper Co., Canada, was fined $320,000 on December 18, in New Brunswick Provincial court after pleading guilty to offences under the Fisheries Act related to the deposit of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish, according to a report by CNW. On Sept. 6, 2013, Twin Rivers notified Environment and Climate Change Canada of a spill of evaporator condensate into the Madawaska River. Evaporator condensate is a by-product of the mill process and is deleterious to fish. 

During the investigation, the mill reported two more deposits on March 3 and March 10, 2014, of effluent acutely lethal to fish into the Saint John River in contravention of the Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations and the Fisheries Act.

The investigation determined that in 2013, the overflow tank of evaporator condensate was blocked to prepare for the mill's annual shutdown. This contributed to the spill into the Madawaska River. The deposits in 2014 occurred during dredging activities at the mill's secondary effluent treatment lagoon located in Saint-Basile, N.B.

Of the total fine, $319,000 will be directed to the Environmental Damages Fund (EDF), with the remaining $1,000 directed to the court. As a result of this conviction, the company's name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.

Quick Facts:

• There are 53 species of fish currently found in the Saint John River Basin, which also includes the Madawaska River Tributary. 
• The EDF is administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. It was created in 1995 to provide a mechanism for directing funds received as a result of fines, court orders, and voluntary payments to projects that will benefit our natural environment. 
• The Environmental Offenders Registry contains information on convictions of corporations obtained under environmental legislation enforced by Environment and Climate Change Canada and Parks Canada Agency, for offences committed since June 18, 2009—when the Environmental Enforcement Act received Royal Assent. This tool allows the media and the public to search for corporate convictions using the name of the corporation, its home province, the province where the offence occurred, or the legislation under which the conviction was obtained.