Rio Tinto Fer et Titane Inc. ordered to pay $600,000 for violating the Fisheries Act

June 16, 2023 – Sorel-Tracy, Quebec – Environment and Climate Change Canada

On June 15, 2023, Rio Tinto Fer et Titane Inc. was sentenced by the Court of Quebec, at the Sorel-Tracy courthouse, to pay two fines totalling $600,000 dollars, after pleading guilty to two counts of violating the Fisheries Act. The conviction follows two spills of harmful substances in June and December 2020. The fines will be paid in full to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and will support projects that have a positive impact on the country’s natural environment.

On or around June 3, 2020, a sodium hydroxide spill occurred during work at the Rio Tinto Fer et Titane Inc. complex in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. A total of 1,314 litres of sodium hydroxide were discharged into the complex’s sewer system, reaching the final discharge point, which flows into the St. Lawrence River. That same day, Rio Tinto Fer et Titane Inc. notified Environment and Climate Change Canada that the final discharge point had a pH above 9.5, which is harmful to fish.

A second incident occurred on or around December 26, 2020. A broken, spent acid pipe released 7,000 litres of hydrochloric acid into the complex’s storm-drainage system, which then emptied into the St. Lawrence River.

Depositing a deleterious substance in water frequented by fish, or in any other place where the substance may enter any such water, is a violation 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 federal environmental laws.

Quick facts

• On or around June 3 and on or around December 26, 2020, Rio Tinto Fer et Titane Inc. violated subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act. As a result, the company was fined $200,000 dollars for the first count, for the release of sodium hydroxide, and $400,000 dollars for the second count, for the release of hydrochloric acid.
• The St. Lawrence River is water frequented by fish, as defined by the Fisheries Act. The river water around Sorel-Tracy contains several species of fish, including bass, walleye, minnow, and yellow perch.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act, which prohibit the deposit of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish.
• 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 support projects that restore the natural environment and conserve wildlife. 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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Contacts

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