The charge relates to a release of process water, a substance deleterious to fish, into Marsh Head Creek.
The charge stemmed from a February 4 2012, report that approximately 391 cubic metres of process water had been released from a broken pipeline near Marsh Head Creek. This creek is fish-bearing and flows into the Athabasca River—a major Alberta waterway.
Environment Canada dispatched enforcement officers to the site and launched a joint investigation with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, which revealed that human error led to the pipeline release.
Sample analysis then determined that chlorides in the process water were lethal to fish.
