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Ponoka fined $70,000 for sewage release

The Town of Ponoka has been fined $70,000 for releasing sewage effluent harmful to fish into the Battle River in 2009.

The Town of Ponoka has been fined $70,000 for releasing sewage effluent harmful to fish into the Battle River in 2009.

Environment Canada says the fine was levied in provincial court after the town pleaded guilty to one count under the Fisheries Act.

But the conviction has the town feeling like it has been made a “scapegoat” for the lack of consistency between provincial and federal environmental regulations, said chief administrative officer Brad Watson.

Environment Canada says it launched its investigation after receiving a complaint of dead fish in the Battle River in June 2009.

“An investigation found that the Town of Ponoka was releasing effluent from their wastewater lagoon into the Battle River,” says the department. “Sample analysis of the effluent determined that it was harmful to fish.”

Watson said that doesn’t tell the whole story. Ponoka, like many Alberta municipalities, has permission to release treated effluent into nearby rivers periodically as long as they meet provincial safety regulations.

In May 2009 the town sought and was granted provincial approval to release treated effluent into the river over 14 days. The effluent met all provincial water standards for release.

On June 1, both provincial and federal environmental departments began receiving reports of dead fish about 10 km downstream along with blue-green algae blooms.

Environment Canada’s investigation showed that the effluent did not meet federal standards, which prohibits anything “deleterious” to fish being released into the river, he said. In this case, higher than allowed ammonia levels were blamed for harming fish.

But while the town is required by the province to test for a number of substances in its treated effluent, ammonia is not one of them.

“We checked what we were supposed to be checking,” said Watson

Ponoka isn’t the first municipality to fall victim to the difference in standards between the two levels of government, he said. Four years ago, Beaverlodge was penalized in an identical situation.

The town intends to lobby its MLA and MP to push for consistency in provincial and federal regulations to save other municipalities from running into the same issue.

Alberta Environment spokeswoman Jessica Potter backs up the town’s position and said the province wants to talk to their federal counterparts about why there appear to be discrepancies in water guidelines. The town was operating within its approvals, she said, adding that provincial guidelines are “same or stronger” than their federal equivalents.

“I can’t comment directly on what the federal government chose to do here. As far, as we’re concerned, the town is doing what it is allowed to do.”

Watson said besides the regulatory issues, there were a number of other factors that cast doubt on Ponoka’s impact on the river. In 2009, the river was very low and a number of other municipalities and the Alberta Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury had already released effluent into the river and there were further discharges from upstream farms. All those factors created a “perfect storm” that spring that could have contributed to fish and algae problems.

Watson said while the town believes it had a good case to fight the charge, the prospect of a costly and lengthy legal battle and the risk of losing and facing a stiffer penalty led to the guilty plea.

In fact, while the Environment Canada news release suggests a public education component was part of the penalty, Watson said it was the town that suggested it should make other communities aware of the problem. Staff will make a presentation at the upcoming Alberta Water and Wastewater Operators Association Conference, post information on a number of websites, including those for associations representing urban and rural municipalities, and submit an article to the Ponoka News.

Meanwhile, the town has taken matters into its own hands and plans to use an independent laboratory to test its effluent on fish and check ammonia levels before releasing any effluent in the future.

The penalty includes a fine of $3,750 under the Fisheries Act. Also, the town must pay $66,250 into the Environmental Damages Fund, to be used for the conservation and protection of fisheries and fish habitat in the Battle River, its tributaries and watershed.

An Environment Canada spokesperson could not be reached on Wednesday.

pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com