MONCTON,
New Brunswick, June 23, 2006 – Gemtec Ltd. and
company official Robert Lutes were sentenced in
Provincial Court in Moncton, New Brunswick today
of violating the pollution prevention provisions
of the Federal Fisheries Act. The charges relate
to the deposit of acutely lethal landfill leachate
that entered the Petitcodiac Watershed from the
former Moncton Landfill Site.
Both Gemtec, an environmental
consulting company, and Mr. Lutes, a Gemtec principal
and project manager, were convicted on April 26,
2006 by Judge Yvette Finn after a five-week trail.
Judge Finn fined the company $5,000 and Robert
Lutes $1,000 for their involvement in the offences.
In addition to the fine, Gemtec Ltd. must contribute
$10,000 to the Government of Canada's Environmental
Damages Fund. Mr. Lutes must also contribute $1,000
to the Fund. The Fund, which is administered by
Environment Canada, is used to restore environmental
damage or to prevent environmental damage from
occurring. Finally, Gemtec has been ordered to
pay $10,000 to the Jonathan Creek Committee, a
local environmental organization, while Mr. Lutes
must pay $1,000 to the committee.
This case is a landmark in environmental
protection. These convictions mark the first time
that an engineering consultant company has been
convicted of providing advice to a client that
resulted in the client violating federal environmental
law. This case has demonstrated that consultants
who fail to incorporate environmental compliance
into their advice to clients can and may be held
accountable for their role in any resultant environmental
offence.
Charges were laid by Environment
Canada on March 12, 2002, against Gemtec Ltd.,
Gemtec Project Engineer Robert Lutes, the City
of Moncton, and Moncton City Engineer Geoff Greenough
after a year-long investigation by Environment
Canada Enforcement Officers. The investigation
was initiated as a result of a complaint made
to Environment Canada by the Petitcodiac Riverkeepers,
a local environmental organization.
Landfill leachate is a liquid
substance that percolates from the ground as a
result of deposited garbage mixing with rainwater
and melting snow.
On September 23, 2003, the City
of Moncton pleaded guilty and charges against
Mr. Greenough were withdrawn by the Crown. The
City paid a $35,000 fine and was ordered to take
remedial measures to reduce the leachate flow
from the landfill site.
Gemtec Ltd. is an engineering
consulting company that was hired by the City
of Moncton to provide closure options for the
former Moncton landfill. Gemtec Ltd. was also
contracted by the City of Moncton to implement
the closure plan that it had recommended.
Environment Canada investigates
alleged offences under the Canadian Environmental
Protection Act, 1999 and the Fisheries Act, in
order to ensure that companies, government employees
and the general public comply with legislation
and regulations that protect Canada's environment.
