Gas station sentenced for violating federal environment law
February 20, 2015 – Duck Lake, Saskatchewan– Environment Canada
A numbered company, 101195638 Saskatchewan Ltd., operating as Blackhawk’s Gas, located on the Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation Reserve, pleaded guilty on February 18, 2015, in Saskatchewan Provincial Court and was ordered to pay $25,000 for failing to comply with an order given by an enforcement officer. The company was fined an additional $2,000 for not having a compliant emergency plan and for failing to perform required inspections.
Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999), as amended by the Environmental Enforcement Act, this company received a mandatory minimum fine of $25,000. The mandatory minimum penalty is aimed at promoting compliance with federal environmental legislation. These fines will be directed to the Environmental Damages Fund. In addition, the court ordered the company to perform an environmental audit, repair any deficiencies, and prepare an adequate emergency plan. As a result of the conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offender’s Registry.
On September 9, 2013, enforcement officers from Environment Canada issued an Environmental Protection Compliance Order (EPCO) to address violations identified during an earlier inspection. The EPCO required that specific measures related to sections of the Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations under CEPA, 1999, be taken no later than November 19, 2013. A follow-up inspection revealed that most of the measures outlined in the EPCO had not been implemented.
