FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Peace River Hydro Partners (PRHP) has been ordered to pay $1.1 million and has been added to the Environmental Offenders Registry after pleading guilty to dumping contaminated water into the Peace River.
According to an Environment and Climate Change Canada release, PRHP pleaded guilty to one charge of depositing a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish on July 31st in a provincial court in Fort St. John.
The charge follows an investigation by Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers into the discharge of 3,300 m3, or approximately three million litres, of contaminated drainage water into the Peace River on September 9th and 10th, 2018.
The investigation determined that a mix of treated and untreated drainage was released into the Peace River during a high rainfall event due to the water management infrastructure at the Site C dam project not having enough capacity for the additional drainage, the release said.
The contaminated drainage water had a low pH, meaning it was acidic, and a high concentration of metals.
“A sample of the drainage water collected on September 9th, 2018, determined that it contained a concentration of aluminum that was acutely lethal to fish. This unauthorized release was contrary to subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada in the release.
BC Hydro released details on the incident in a Site C quarterly report dated between July 1st, 2022, and September 20th, 2022.
According to the report, Site C released “approximately four million litres of water” that had run over potentially acid-generating rocks into the Peace River.
The report said the incident occurred when the dam project saw approximately 55 millimetres of rainfall and water captured in holding ponds on site had run over potentially acid-generating rocks. During the rainfall, BC Hydro reports that the holding ponds hit capacity, resulting in a controlled release of the water into the Peace River over a 24-hour period.
The release of water was done, according to the report, to “protect the water management infrastructure and ensure the structural integrity of the holding ponds.”
BC Hydro said the incident was reported to provincial and federal agencies on September 9th, 2018. BC Hydro also reported that no impacts to fish or wildlife in the Peace River were detected. However, the company didn’t state the process that was conducted to arrive at that conclusion.
Following the investigation, BC Hydro and PRHP were charged by the federal government with failure to notify of the deposit of a deleterious substance in a timely manner. This was on top of the depositing the deleterious substance charge that the PRHP pleaded guilty to.
The fine PRHP was ordered to pay will go toward the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund to support projects that positively impact Canada’s natural environment.
The registry the company had been added to contains information on convictions of corporations registered for offences committed under specific federal environmental laws.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is responsible for administrating and enforcing the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act.
The Peace River contains 33 species of fish, including Rainbow Trout, Walleye, Bull Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Mountain Whitefish, Sculpin, Redside Shiner, Spottail Shiner, etc.
The Westslope Cutthroat Trout and Bull Trout are listed nationally and provincially as species of special concern, while the Spottail Shiner are provincially red-listed as in danger of extirpation, endangered, or extinction.
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