Skip to main content

New Brunswick's Twin Rivers pulp mill fined $250,000 for polluting Madawaska River

New Brunswick's provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld New Brunswick's provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Share
EDMUNDSTON, N.B. -

The Twin Rivers Paper Company in New Brunswick has been fined $250,000 after pleading guilty to allowing a failed pipeline to dump pulp and paper process water into the Madawaska River.

Environment Canada issued a statement last week saying that on May 10, 2021, enforcement officers spotted the broken pipeline during a routine inspection of the plant in Edmundston, N.B.

An investigation determined the pipeline had been damaged by extensive external corrosion, which resulted in the release of 102,000 litres of process water -- also known as groundwood white water -- into the river for a period of about 24 hours.

Testing of water samples determined the substance to be harmful to fish in the river, which is home to several species including brook trout, yellow perch and Atlantic salmon.

The fine is the result of Twin Rivers Paper Company pleading guilty in provincial court to violating the federal Fisheries Act.

The company's name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry, which contains information about corporations convicted under certain federal environmental laws.

According to the provincial government, the Edmundston plant produces about 100 tonnes of groundwood pulp daily for the paper mill in neighbouring Madawaska, Maine.

The proceeds from the fine will be directed to the federal government's Environmental Damages Fund, which is used to support projects that benefit the environment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2024.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

BREAKING

BREAKING Prime Minister Trudeau's plane lands near Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plane landed in West Palm Beach, Fla., this evening, not far from where incoming U.S. president Donald Trump's transition team is based at his Mar-a-Lago estate, but the Prime Minister's Office is refusing to comment on whether the two are meeting.

Stay Connected