The 2007 capsizing of an unstable B.C. barge that spilled petroleum into the Johnstone Strait has resulted in a $75,000 fine, Environment Canada says.
Ted Leroy Trucking Ltd. of Chemainus, B.C. was engaged in a commercial marine towing operation at the time of the spill, Environment Canada officials reported.
According to a provincial court judgment released in 2010, the barge tipped, sending a tractor, excavator, ambulance, crew bus, log harvester, log loader and five other logging vehicles, including a fuel truck loaded with 10,000 litres of diesel oil, straight into the water. Within a few hours, an oil slick had spread some 14 km into an area known as one of the only killer whale sanctuaries on the West Coast.
“The petroleum products were released in waters frequented by fish and by migratory birds,” states a July 5, 2012 announcement from the ministry. “Within hours of the spill, an Environment Canada enforcement officer was on site conducting an investigation.”
The company faced six charges under the Fisheries Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act and the Canada Shipping Act following the incident on August 20, 2007.
The provincial court of British Columbia sentenced Ted Leroy Trucking Ltd. to pay a total of $75,000. The penalty represents a $5,000 fine and an obligation to pay $70,000 for work and expenditures promoting proper management, control, conservation and/or protection of fish or fish habitat, including the Johnstone Strait area