Ontario Construction News staff writer
English Prestige Construction Management, a Caledon-based company, was recently fined $35,000 for permitting the discharge of a contaminant (natural gas) into the natural environment that was likely to have caused an adverse effect.
The business provides real estate project management services with a focus on construction.
According to a provincial court report, workers were excavating a trench around a newly constructed commercial building at a plaza located on Kennedy Road in Caledon.
During the excavation, an excavator operated by an English Prestige operator, struck a buried natural gas line, which resulted in a discharge of natural gas to the air.
The company contacted emergency services and the gas line owner (Enbridge Gas) to report the discharge. The Fire Department, Police and Enbridge technicians responded to the incident and the gas line was shut off to perform repairs.
The gas leak resulted in the evacuation of a local childcare center, the temporary closure of a grocery store, and gas service was disrupted for customers in the plaza while necessary repairs were performed.
The Environmental Investigations and Enforcement Branch of the Ministry of the Environment investigated and laid charges which resulted in one conviction. The company has been given two years to pay.