September 30, 2014 - 4:40 PM
PORT HARDY, B.C. - The owner of the Port Alice pulp mill on northern Vancouver Island has been convicted and fined $175,000 for polluting a nearby inlet.
The B.C. Environment Ministry says Neucel Specialty Cellulose Ltd. was found guilty by a provincial court for exceeding authorized levels of discharge into Neroutsos Inlet.
The Conservation Officer Service's major investigations unit conducted a joint investigation with Environment Canada and then sent a recommendation of charges to the Crown.
The service says Neucel exceeded it's discharge rates on three separate occasions.
The company has been ordered to pay $1,000 in fines to the provincial government and $174,000 to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014