Ontario Construction News staff writer
Barclay Construction has signed an alternative measures agreement and agreed to pay $175,000 to the Government of Canada’s environmental damages fund.
The agreement, as recommended by the court is an alternative to prosecution of charges that had been laid by Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers under the Fisheries Act. The charges, which have since been stayed, were related to an incident where sediment-contaminated water was deposited into Lake Ontario.
In addition, Barclay has agreed to “promote effective implementation of environmental management systems” by highlighting improvements and lessons learned at an open house and a construction industry conference. The company will also develop a standard operating procedure on spill containment and cleanup, and train all their field employees on this procedure.
On June 21, 2018, enforcement officers participating in a marine training exercise at Pier 12 in Hamilton Harbour “observed a pump that was removing water from an excavation site, depositing sediment-contaminated water into Lake Ontario”.
After an investigation, officers determined that The Barclay Construction Group Inc. was responsible for the ongoing work at Pier 12. Laboratory results revealed “the contaminated water contained substances that are deleterious (harmful) to fish.
“Depositing or permitting the deposit of a deleterious substance in water frequented by fish, or in any place where the substance may enter any such water, is a violation of the Fisheries Act.”