Ontario Construction News staff writer
A Kingston-based marine construction company has been fined $45,000 after being convicted of violating the Ontario Water Resources Act for discharging sediment and silt into the St. Lawrence River.
Inner Harbour Marine Services Limited was convicted in Kingston court on July 17 for the offence, which occurred over a two-day period in April 2023. The company was also ordered to pay a $11,250 victim fine surcharge and given nine months to pay.
The conviction stems from shoreline restoration work the company conducted at a private residence on Treasure Island, a peninsula in the St. Lawrence River surrounded by a provincially significant wetland that provides habitat for fish, amphibians, turtles and invertebrates.
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks said permits issued to Inner Harbour required the installation of erosion and sediment controls before work began, and for equipment to be operated in a way that prevented material from entering the water.
But during an inspection in April 2023, a ministry hydrogeologist observed excavator tracks in the river and a visible plume of sediment discharging from the worksite. An environmental officer and surface water scientist later confirmed that excavation was taking place without sediment fencing or other controls in place, despite such measures being present at the site but not installed.
Water samples taken from the river showed total suspended solids in the sediment plume were more than 100 times background levels. The discharge lasted for at least 20 hours, the ministry said, impairing water quality and likely causing moderate negative impacts on local fish and aquatic invertebrates.
The ministry’s Environmental Investigations and Enforcement Branch investigated and laid charges, leading to the conviction.
