De Beers Canada Inc. - conviction information for 2022-07-25
| Corporation name: | De Beers Canada Inc. |
|---|---|
| Address: | 2400-333 Bay Street |
| City: | Toronto |
| Province/territory: | Ontario |
| Postal code: | M5H 2T6 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Sector or industry: | 212 - Mining and quarrying (except oil and gas) |
| Location of offense: | Snap Lake Mine, North Slave, Northwest Territories |
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| Case summary: |
De Beers Canada Inc. owns and operates Snap Lake Mine which is a mine in care and maintenance in the North Slave region of the Northwest Territories. In December of 2017 an estimated 5,903 litres of diesel fuel overflowed from the secondary containment of an onsite storage tank and entered into the environment. It was determined from a report submitted by De Beers that the root cause of the release was due to a failure to identify risks associated with the manual fuel transfer from a main tank to a day tank in the system. |
| Charges: |
On the 7th day of December 2017, at the Snap Lake diamond mine site in the Northwest Territories, De Beers Canada Inc. (De Beers) unintentionally caused the release of diesel, a petroleum product in liquid form, from an overflowing storage tank system into the surrounding environment, in violation of subsection 2.1(1) of the Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and thereby did commit an offence of said Act.
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| Enforcement notification: | Diesel spill at Northwest Territories diamond mine results in $350,000 fine |
| Result: | Guilty (Court Decision) |
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| Date of conviction: | 2022-07-25 |
| Court level: | Provincial and Territorial Court |
| Nature of offense(s): |
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| Additional details about the nature of the offense: | Release of diesel into the environment. |
| Act | Regulations | Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) | Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations | 272 (1)(h) / 2.1(1) |
| Date of sentencing: |
2022-07-25 |
|---|---|
| Location of sentencing: | Yellowknife, Northwest Territories |
| Sentence(s): |
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| Amount of fine(s): | $350,000 |
| Sentencing details: |
On the 25th day of July 2022, before the Yellowknife Territorial Court, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, De Beers Canada Inc. was convicted of:
One count of a violation of subsection 2.1(1) of the Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations and thereby did commit an offence in violation of section 272(1)(h) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
On the same day, De Beers Canada Inc. was ordered to pay a total of $350,000 fine. The fine will be directed to the Government of Canada's Environmental Damages Fund.
De Beers Canada Inc. was additionally ordered to provide Environment and Climate Change Canada with a plan with timelines to remediate the area affected by the spill, and secondly, remediate the area affected by the spill. |