Teck Metals fined $2.2M for Columbia River pollution

WARFIELD, B.C. — Teck Metals Ltd. has been fined $2.2 million by the Provincial Court of British Columbia for releasing effluent into the Columbia River.

A federal fine of $2 million will go into the Environmental Damages Fund. The remaining $200,000 is the provincial fine, states a news release.

Teck Metals pleaded guilty to two charges laid under the federal Fisheries Act and one charge under the provincial Environmental Management Act.

The charge stems from the spill of 2.5 million liters of low-pH effluent into the river due to operational errors in 2019.

“The company’s failure to exert due diligence contributed to the duration and extent of the spill. In this case, the low pH effluent was caused by a leak of an acidic solution from the company’s fertilizer operations in Warfield, B.C.,” writes the Government of Canada in the release.

The company’s name will now be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.