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OTTAWA, Oct. 3 (Xinhua)—Canada’s capital city may face tens of millions of dollars’ fines next week after it pleaded guilty to dumping raw sewage into the Ottawa River Friday.
At a court hearing Friday, lawyers for the city and the Ontario Environment Ministry agreed to a statement of facts on the August 2006 spill.
The city is accused of unlawfully charging 764 million liters of sewage into the river which flows through parts of the city. The spill happened when a gate meant to regulate the flow of sewage during bad storms jammed open and went undetected for days, according to city engineers.
Under provincial laws, the fines for the spill range from 25,000 Canadian dollars (25,000 U.S. dollars) a day to 6 million a day. For the 12-day period of the spill, the city faces a fine of between 300,000 Canadian dollars (300,000 U.S. dollars) and 72 million.
The court will make a decision about the fines after Oct. 10.
The city has already agreed to give 50,000 Canadian dollars (50,000 U.S. dollars) to Ottawa River Keeper, an organization that monitors the river to ensure it is kept clean.
Meredith Brown, the executive director of the organization, said she is pleased the massive spill has been taken seriously enough to end up in court.
Brown said she does not believe the maximum fine will be imposed, but whatever amount the city has to pay will send a message that the river is not a dumping ground.
“For me what’s important is that the river is receiving the protection of the law,” Brown told Canwest News Service.
“A fine is really important because it makes the city accountable for the pollution. It says that you can’t just dump anything into the river.”
City lawyer Stuart Huxley said by pleading guilty, the city is taking ownership of the problem and from now on, is determined to make sure such incidents do not happen again.
(C) China View