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CITY OF MONCTON PLEADS GUILTY IN LANDFILL CASE
MONCTON, September 22, 2003 (Environment
Canada News Release) - The municipality of the City of Moncton
has pleaded guilty to federal environmental charges related to
a decommissioned landfill.
A provincial court judge ordered the
City to pay a fine of $10,000, to contribute $20,000 to the Jonathan
Creek Restoration Committee, and to contribute $5,000 to the federal
government's Environmental
Damages Fund. As well, the judge
ordered the municipality to arrange and pay for all work needed
to ensure that the landfill meets requirements of the federal
Fisheries Act. It is estimated that remediation costs
could be as high as $700,000. The City must monitor the landfill
and report regularly to Environment Canada on test results. If
there are any continuing or new problems, the municipality must
then immediately address them.
Enforcement Officers of Environment Canada's
Atlantic Region laid
charges last February under Section
36(3) of the federal Fisheries Act relating to toxic
substances allegedly being discharged from a decommissioned landfill
owned by the City of Moncton. This is the first time that a municipality
has been prosecuted by Environment Canada for landfill problems.
The charges alleged that toxic substances
samples from the decommissioned City of Moncton landfill were
acutely lethal to fish, and that the toxic substances entered
Jonathan Creek and the Petitcodiac River. In addition, the landfill
closure plan selected by the municipality did not comply with
the Fisheries Act.
Charges were laid against the City of
Moncton; the Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Moncton;
an engineering consulting firm and an employee of the consulting
firm. Charges against the Commissioner of Public Works have been
dropped. The charges against the engineering firm and the employee
are proceeding in provincial court.
Environment Canada's investigation was
initiated because of evidence
provided by Sentinelles Petitcodiac Riverkeeper,
a local Moncton environmental group. Environment
Canada's Office of Enforcement then conducted its
own detailed investigation, during which search warrants were
executed on the landfill site, Moncton City Hall, and the offices
of the engineering consulting firm.
The money awarded to the Environmental
Damages Fund because of this successful prosecution will be used
to fund local environmental projects. The Fund is one of the tools
that helps environmental law enforcers ensure that polluters take
responsibility for their actions, and gives courts a way to guarantee
that money from pollution fines and settlements is directly invested
to repair the actual harm done by the pollution.
Environment Canada's Environmental Protection
Enforcement staff investigates potential pollution offences under
the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 (CEPA 1999) and
the federal Fisheries Act. They help ensure that companies, government
employees, and the public comply with legislation and regulations
that protect Atlantic Canada's environment.
For further information, contact:
Daniel LeBlanc
(506)388-5337
info@petitcodiac.org
www.petitcodiac.org
Dave Aggett
Enforcement Division
Environment Canada, Atlantic Region
(902) 426-1925
Mark Mattson
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
(416) 861-1237
Mark@waterkeeper.ca
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