Fraser River Pile and Dredge (FRPD) was fined $350,000 in the Provincial Court of British Columbia last week, after pleading guilty to depositing a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish, in violation of the Fisheries Act, the Government of Canada announces.
The penalty will be directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund.
In February 2014, Fraser River Pile and Dredge was dredging in Deas Slough, in the Fraser River, when its dredging vessel punctured a submerged water main carrying chlorinated water to the Corporation of Delta.
Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers investigated the incident and determined that chlorinated water was released through the ruptured pipe into Deas Slough, an important fish-bearing body of water. The concentration of chlorine in the water released to Deas Slough was deleterious to fish, said the Government.
As a result of this conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.