North 60° Petro Limited pleaded guilty on November 12, 2010, in Whitehorse Territorial Court for failing to comply with an Environment Canada Inspector’s Direction requesting that the company stop discharging hydrocarbons into the Yukon River from North 60° Petro Bulk Terminal site in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Failure to comply with an Inspector’s Direction is a violation of the Fisheries Act, which prohibits the discharge of deleterious substances into fish bearing waters. North 60° Petro Limited was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and make a $28,000 contribution to the Environmental Damages Fund. The Territorial Court has also ordered North 60° Petro Limited to cease discharging deleterious substances (i.e. hydrocarbons) into the Yukon River, as well as to remove the deleterious substances that were previously discharged into the Yukon River.
Environment Canada issued an Inspector’s Direction to the company requesting an immediate stop of the discharge in December 2006. North 60° Petro Limited failed to comply with the Inspector’s Direction, which expired in November 2007. The company was granted a 30-day extension in December 2007 to comply with the original Inspector’s Direction. North 60° Petro Limited was charged in April 2009 for failing to comply with an Inspector’s Direction and thereby committing an offence under of the Fisheries Act.
The Environmental Damages Fund (EDF) helps ensure polluters take responsibility for their actions and gives courts a way to direct the money from pollution penalties and settlements to repair the actual harm done by the pollution.
