Stadacona General Partner to pay $55,000 penalty for 2007 violation of Canadian fisheries act at Quebec paper mill

QUEBEC, Sept. 26, 2011 (CNW) - Stadacona General Partner Inc. has pleaded guilty to having released one million litres of untreated process water into the Saint-Charles River, in Québec, and of having used a non-standard sampling method. Committed in December 2007, these acts violate the requirements of the Fisheries Act and the Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations.

The penalty imposed on the company is the payment of $49,500 to the Environmental Damages Fund to promote fish protection and the sound management and monitoring of fisheries and fish habitat. The Court also imposed a $5,500 fine.

The Environment Canada investigation, completed in 2009, showed that a breakdown and poor functioning of the pumping station equipment and lack of maintenance of the equipment caused the release of harmful substances. Since then, the company has made a number of modifications to the facilities to prevent such an event from recurring.

Stadacona General Partner Inc., located in Québec, deinks paper and produces commercial pulp for manufacturing newsprint and cardboard. The company is currently undergoing restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

The Environmental Damages Fund, managed by Environment Canada, was created in 1995. Founded on the "polluter pays" principle, the Environmental Damages Fund ensures that those who cause damage to the environment or harm wildlife habitat take responsibility for their actions. It allows the creation of a closer relationship between law enforcement measures and investments in repairing the damage caused to our environment and our wildlife species.