Keller Foundations Ltd. fined $1 million for depositing harmful concrete leachate into groundwater that flowed into Larson Creek, British Columbia

April 12, 2023 – North Vancouver, British Columbia – Environment and Climate Change Canada

On March 17, 2023, in the Provincial Court of British Columbia, Keller Foundations Ltd. was ordered to pay a total penalty of $1 million after pleading guilty to one charge laid for violations of subsection 36(3) of the federal Fisheries Act. The charge stemmed from an investigation into the deaths of approximately 85 Cutthroat Trout in Larson Creek in West Vancouver. The fine will be directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and will support projects that have a positive impact on Canada’s natural environment.

On April 30, 2018, Environment and Climate Change Canada environmental enforcement officers were notified of dead fish in Larson Creek. After an investigation, they determined that Keller Foundations Ltd.’s construction activities led to a discharge of concrete leachate into groundwater that flowed into Larson Creek. This resulted in a deposit of a deleterious or harmful substance in a place where it may enter water frequented by fish, a violation of subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.

As a result of this conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry. The Registry contains information on convictions of corporations registered for offences committed under certain federal environmental laws.

Quick facts

• Environment and Climate Change Canada administers and enforces the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act. These provisions prohibit the deposit of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish, or in a place where they may enter water frequented by fish.
• Larson Creek is fish-bearing and contains Rainbow Trout, Skamania Trout, Cutthroat Trout, and other species of fish.
• In this case, much of the concrete leachate that was discharged into groundwater had elevated (or basic) pH levels that are known to be deleterious (or harmful) to fish, including Cutthroat Trout.   
• Created in 1995, the Environmental Damages Fund is a Government of Canada program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The Fund helps ensure that court-awarded penalties are used to repair environmental damage or benefit the environment. The Fund receives and redirects the money from court penalties and settlements, usually investing in areas where the environmental damage occurred.

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