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Penalty as high as $72 million; lawyers hope to reach deal
OTTAWA – The City of Ottawa is to be sentenced next week after pleading guilty to dumping close to one billion litres of raw sewage into the Ottawa River and failing to report it.
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 two sides are continuing a discussion about what the appropriate punishment should be and hope to make a sentencing submission to the court on Oct. 10.
The fines for the spill, which took place Aug. 4 to 15 two years ago and contributed to a long closure of Petrie Island Beach that summer for sanitary reasons, range from $25,000 a day to $6 million a day. For the 12-day period of the spill, the city faces a fine of between $300,000 and $72 million.
Overall, the city dumped 960 million litres of sewage into the the river, but the law allows a grace period for accidents. This spill happened when a gate meant to regulate the flow of sewage during storms jammed open and went undetected for days, city engineers have said.
The charges relate to the 764 million litres of sewage that were unlawfully discharged.
In an effort to indicate the city’s desire to turn a new leaf, the city has agreed to give $50,000 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 that the massive spill has been taken seriously enough to end up in court. She doesn’t believe the maximum fine will be imposed, but says 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,” Ms. Brown said. “A fine is really important because it makes the city accountable for the pollution.”
City lawyer Stuart Huxley said by pleading guilty, the city is taking ownership of the problem and is determined to make sure such incidents don’t happen again.
© Ottawa Citizen 2008