A Quebec-based company that ran a chemical manufacturing facility in eastern Gatineau, Quebec, has been penalized with a $1.35 million fine for releasing a harmful substance into the Lièvre River in 2019. Superior General Partner Inc., the owner and operator of the Erco Mondial chemical plant, admitted guilt in Quebec court to 12 instances of discharging sodium chlorite into the river, violating the Fisheries Act. The fines and admission of guilt were disclosed by Environment Canada in a statement on Thursday.
An investigation revealed that sodium chlorite, typically utilized as a textile-bleaching agent and disinfectant, and deemed harmful to fish under the act, was discharged into the river on 12 occasions between June 27 and July 19, 2019. It took Superior General Partner Inc. five days to report the leakage to Environment Canada. The company attributed the discharges to equipment malfunctions. Additionally, the company and the plant’s former technical director, Jean-François Roux, pleaded guilty to failing to notify federal authorities of the spills, with Roux being fined $15,000.
In 2019, a significant number of deceased fish were found in both the Lièvre River and the Ottawa River, which the former flows into. Laura Reinsborough, CEO of the non-profit Ottawa Riverkeeper, commended the federal government for concluding the investigation and imposing the substantial fine. The Lièvre River sustains various fish species, such as smallmouth bass, brook trout, walleye, and muskellunge.
While Environment Canada did not directly connect the sodium chlorite spills from the Erco Mondial plant to the fish fatalities, Quebec’s environment ministry investigated a hydroelectric plant along the river and ultimately held it responsible. Ottawa Riverkeeper later expressed doubts about these findings.
Superior General Partner Inc. will be included in the environmental offenders registry by Environment Canada for violating federal environmental laws. The fine collected will contribute to the government’s environmental damages fund, as stated by Environment Canada.
