Irving Pulp & Paper has plead not guilty to 15 counts of illegal dumping of an unnamed ‘deleterious’ substance into the St. John River and a trial date will be set next month.
It’s alleged to have happened at the pulp mill at Reversing Falls on the city’s west side over the course of more than two years — from June 2014 to August 2016 —and the company says it reported the issues itself.
Environment Canada conducted the investigation and Robert Robichaud, the operations manager for New Brunswick and PEI, was in provincial court in Saint John for the plea.
“Once the investigation was concluded and charges were laid, at that point it really becomes a file under the Public Prosecutions Service of Canada. So, Environment Canada here today was to be here to gather information and also provide information as needed,” says Robichaud.
“Environment Canada does take any pollution water discharge into the watercourses quite seriously.”
In a statement to CHSJ News, Irving Pulp & Paper says that they are in compliance with all environmental laws.
“The charges are based on fish mortality rates in a laboratory test. The laboratory test does not reflect what would actually happen in the real world,” the statement reads.
“None of the incidents that resulted in the 15 charges resulted in any environmental damage. There was no fish mortality in the natural environment as a result of the incidents.”
If the company is found guilty of all of the charges under the Fisheries Act the minimum fine would be $3-million.
A trial date will be set on February 23. It’s estimated this trial will take six weeks #nbcourts.
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) January 30, 2017
