Teck Coal Limited - conviction information for 2017-10-05
| Corporation name: | Teck Coal Limited |
|---|---|
| Address: | Line Creek Operations, PO Box 3000 |
| City: | Sparwood |
| Province/territory: | British Columbia |
| Postal code: | V0B 2G0 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Sector or industry: | 212 - Mining and quarrying (except oil and gas) |
| Location of offense: | Line Creek Operations, PO Box 3000, Sparwood, British Columbia |
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| Case summary: |
Teck Coal Limited owns and operates 5 coal mines in the southeastern corner of British Columbia. These mines are Fording River Operations, Greenhills Operations, Line Creek Operations, Elkview Operations, and Coal Mountain Operations. On October 16th, 2014, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) received notification from Line Creek Operations (LCO) that fish were found dead in Line Creek. On October 17th, 2014, ECCC attended LCO and performed an inspection of Line Creek, the adjacent Contingency Ponds, and the outfall area of the selenium Active Water Treatment facility (AWTF). Samples were collected, including toxicity samples from the AWTF outfall. Additional dead fish were found on this date. Also on October 17th, 2014, the AWTF was shutdown over effluent toxicity concerns. An investigation was initiated and it was determined that the effluent from the AWTF failed 4 toxicity tests over a period of 2 weeks, including the toxicity test from the sample collected by ECCC on October 17th, 2014. |
| Charges: |
On January 24th, 2017, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) laid 3 charges under section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act against Teck Coal Limited.
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| Enforcement notification: | Exporter of steelmaking coal fined for Fisheries Act violations at Line Creek in British Columbia’s Elk River Valley |
| Result: | Guilty Plea |
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| Date of conviction: | 2017-10-05 |
| Court level: | Provincial and Territorial Court |
| Nature of offense(s): |
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| Additional details about the nature of the offense: |
| Act | Regulations | Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Pollution Prevention provisions (subsection 36(3)) of the Fisheries Act |
| Date of sentencing: |
2017-10-05 |
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| Location of sentencing: | Fernie, BC |
| Sentence(s): |
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| Amount of fine(s): | $1,425,000 |
| Sentencing details: |
On October 5, 2017, before the Provincial Court of Fernie, B.C., Teck Coal Limited pleaded guilty to three offences under the Fisheries Act related to releases of effluent deleterious to fish into Line Creek, and was sentenced to a penalty of $1,425,000. All of the money was directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund. |