News Contamination Water Issues
Discharge of concrete leachate into groundwater results in $1M fine against company

North Vancouver, B.C. – Construction activities by Keller Foundations Ltd., which resulted in the death of about 85 cutthroat trout in West Vancouver’s Larson Creek in 2018, is costing the company a $1-million fine for violating ubsection 36(3) of the federal Fisheries Act.

Keller Foundations pleaded guilty to the charge last month in the Provincial Court of British Columbia. The fine will be directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and will support projects that have a positive impact on Canada’s natural environment.

On April 30, 2018, Environment and Climate Change Canada environmental enforcement officers were notified of dead fish in Larson Creek. After an investigation, they determined that Keller Foundations Ltd.’s construction activities led to a discharge of concrete leachate into groundwater that flowed into Larson Creek. This resulted in a deposit of a deleterious or harmful substance in a place where it may enter water frequented by fish, a violation of subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.

As a result of this conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry. The Registry contains information on convictions of corporations registered for offences committed under certain federal environmental laws.

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