Teck Metals Ltd. - conviction information for 2022-12-21
| Corporation name: | Teck Metals Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Address: | P.O. Box 1000, 25 Aldridge Avenue |
| City: | Trail |
| Province/territory: | British Columbia |
| Postal code: | V1R 4L8 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Sector or industry: | 212 - Mining and quarrying (except oil and gas) |
| Location of offense: | P.O. Box 1000, 25 Aldridge Avenue, Trail, British Columbia |
|---|---|
| Case summary: |
Teck Metals Ltd. operates a lead/zinc smelter directly adjacent to the Columbia River, and across from the City of Trail.
On February 26, 2019, Teck Metals Ltd. filed a Dangerous Goods Incident Report (DGIR 184344). Teck reported an ongoing release of acidic solution at the Teck Trail (Fertilizer Operations) in Warfield, B.C. The acidic solution entered the Combined IV (C-IV) sewer outfall. The material was initially flowing at 14m³ per minute with an estimated discharged volume of 2461 m³ (2,461,000 liters) of effluent below a pH of 4.2.
The effluent from the C-IV line discharges into the Columbia River. The acidic solution should have been discharged into the recently constructed C-IV Retention/Holding Ponds, which were constructed following a 2016 court resolution where Teck Metals plead guilty to 3 Fisheries Act 36(3) counts, and agreed to undertake 7 projects to prevent future deleterious discharges. The C-IV Retention/Holding Ponds were 1 of the 7 projects. Numerous operational errors led to the effluent in this incident not being diverted to the C-IV Retention/Holding Ponds, and instead being discharged into the Columbia River.
The discharged effluent also failed a LC50 test, which violated a condition of their provincial operating permit.
On November 17, 2022, three charges were laid against Teck Metals Ltd. in relation to this matter. There are two Fisheries Act 36(3) counts, and one count under the provincial Environmental Management Act for failing to comply with the conditions of the permit.
|
| Charges: |
Count 1
Teck Metals Ltd., on February 25, 2019, at or near the City of Trail, in the Province of British Columbia, did deposit or permit the deposit of a deleterious substance, to wit, sulfuric acid, in a place, to wit: the No. 5 sewer system, under conditions where the deleterious substance or any other deleterious substance that results from the deposit of the deleterious substance may enter water frequented by fish, in violation of section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act, and did thereby commit an offence contrary to section 40(2)(b) of the Fisheries Act.
Count 2
Teck Metals Ltd., on or about February 26, 2019, at or near the City of Trail, in the Province of British Columbia, did deposit or permit the deposit of a deleterious substance, to wit: low pH effluent, in water frequented by fish, to wit: the Columbia River, in violation of section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act, and did thereby commit an offence contrary to section 40(2)(b) of the Fisheries Act.
Count 3
Teck Metals Ltd., on or about February 26, 2019, at or near the City of Trail, in the Province of British Columbia, being a person who held a permit or approval issued under the Environmental Management Act to introduce waste into the environment, did introduce waste into the environment without having complied with the requirements of the permit or approval, in violation of section 120(6) of the Environmental Management Act, and did thereby commit an offence contrary to section 120(6) of the Environmental Management Act
|
| Enforcement notification: | Teck Metals Ltd. ordered to pay a $2.2 million fine for unlawful deposit of effluent into the Columbia River |
| Result: | Guilty Plea |
|---|---|
| Date of conviction: | 2022-12-21 |
| Court level: | Provincial and Territorial Court |
| Nature of offense(s): |
|
| Additional details about the nature of the offense: | 2 counts FA 36(3) ; 1 count EMA 120(6) |
| Act | Regulations | Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Pollution Prevention provisions (subsection 36(3)) of the Fisheries Act | ||
| Other - see 'Charges' section | EMA Environmental Management Act 120(6) |
| Date of sentencing: |
2023-01-10 |
|---|---|
| Location of sentencing: | Rossland, British Columbia |
| Sentence(s): |
|
| Amount of fine(s): | $2,200,000 |
| Sentencing details: |
$2,000,000 to the EDF for the 2 FA charges; $120,000 fine for the EMA charge and ;
$80,000 to the provincial Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation for the EMA charge. Total penalty = $2,200,000. UPON the conviction of Teck Metals Ltd. ("Teck") on counts 1, 2, and 3 of Information No. 23367-2C that:
Count 1
Teck Metals Ltd., on February 25, 2019, at or near the City of Trail, in the Province of British Columbia, did deposit or permit the deposit of a deleterious substance, to wit, sulfuric acid, in a place, to wit: the No. 5 sewer system, under conditions where the deleterious substance or any other deleterious substance that results from the deposit of the deleterious substance may enter water frequented by fish, in violation of section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act, and did thereby commit an offence contrary to section 40(2)(b) of the Fisheries Act.
Count 2
Teck Metals Ltd., on or about February 26, 2019, at or near the City of Trail, in the Province of British Columbia, did deposit or permit the deposit of a deleterious substance, to wit: low pH effluent, in water frequented by fish, to wit: the Columbia River, in violation of section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act, and did thereby commit an offence contrary to section 40(2)(b) of the Fisheries Act
Count 3
Teck Metals Ltd., on or about February 26, 2019, at or near the City of Trail, in the Province of British Columbia, being a person who held a permit or approval issued under the Environmental Management Act to introduce waste into the environment, did introduce waste into the environment without having complied with the requirements of the permit or approval, in violation of section 120(6) of the Environmental Management Act, and did thereby commit an offence contrary to section 120(6) of the Environmental Management Act
AND UPON THIS COURT sentencing Teck to pay fines in the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) on count 1, one million dollars ($1,000,000) on count 2, and one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000) on count 3, for a total of two million, one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($2,120,000), which fines are payable on or before February 9, 2023;
THIS COURT, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, ORDERS pursuant to Section 41(6) of the Fisheries Act that the fines of two million dollars be credited to the Environmental Damages Fund, an account in the accounts of Canada, and used for purposes related to the conservation and protection of fish or fish habitat or the restoration of fish habitat, or for administering that Fund.
THIS COURT FURTHER RECOMMENDS, pursuant to 41(7), that the said two million dollars ($2,000,000) paid to the Environmental Damages Fund be paid to a person or organization, or used otherwise, with preference for projects for the conservation and protection of fish or fish habitat in the Kootenay River or Columbia River watersheds, with a preference for projects in the lower Columbia region (south from Nelson, British Columbia);
THIS COURT, having regard to the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission, FURTHER ORDERS THAT, in addition to the fine of one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($120,000) imposed under the Environmental Management Act, that Teck Metals Ltd., pursuant to Section 127(1)(e) of the Environmental Management Act, pay a sum of eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) to the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund;
THIS COURT FURTHER RECOMMENDS that the said eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) be used by the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund for the conservation or enhancement of fish or fish habitat in the Kootenay River or Columbia River watersheds, with a preference for projects in the lower Columbia region (south from Nelson, British Columbia);
THIS COURT FURTHER ORDERS that Teck pay the aforesaid eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) payment to the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund on or before February 9, 2023.
|