A Richmond recycling company – located on Mitchell Island – has received two fines totalling almost $36,000 for dumping pollution-containing wastewater into a sewer without a permit.
Allied Salvage and Metals received two administrative penalties of $17,730 and $18,020 for incidents on Jan. 31, one for each of its locations on Mitchell Island, on Twigg Place and on Mitchell Road.
According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Allied Salvage and Metals allowed discharge to go into the stormwater sewer system which then went into the Fraser River, a fish-bearing waterway.
The ministry decision notes the recycling company doesn’t have a permit from the City of Richmond to discharge non-stormwater into the stormwater sewer system, nor was it authorized by the ministry to discharge waste.
The effluent from the Mitchell Road incident was determined to contain aluminum, iron, lead, zinc, benzopyrene and pyrene.
The Twigg Place effluent contained zinc, naphthalene and pyrene.
The base penalty for the Mitchell Road incident was $20,000, but this was reduced due to the fact the company had made efforts to prevent a reoccurrence.
The incident at Twigg Place had a base penalty of $15,000, but this was increased due to the contravention being determined as a “failure or deliberate,” according to the ministry.
The ministry noted in its decision that water discharge is regulated “in order to ensure that impacts to the environment are managed, monitored and mitigated.”
“Discharging waste without authorization undermines the basic integrity of the overarching regulatory regime and interferes with the ministry’s capacity to protect the environment and human health,” the decision continued.
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