Ontario Court Of Justice News

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation ordered to pay $95,000 for violating 2 counts of the federal Fisheries Act. The charges stem from a road washout in April 2008 just east of the community of Orrville on Highway 518, which sent an estimated 8000 tonnes of road materials spilling into the Seguin River system. The sediment plume extended 40 kilometers downstream into Georgian Bay, causing a significant negative impact on fish and fish habitat. The high volume of sediment and materials, and the resulting plume, was determined to be the result of improper maintenance of a plugged and deteriorating culvert, and was triggered by the rise of melt waters, snow and ice. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation was responsible for this culvert, which has since been repaired.