Port Alberni, B.C. – Weyerhaeuser Company Limited, one of British Columbia’s largest forest companies, has been fined for permitting the deposit of a deleterious substance into fish bearing waters, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced today. In May 1999, fishery officers observed wood leachate runoff from the MacMillan Bloedel Limited Sproat Lake Division dry land log sort entering into Johnston Creek, a small salmon-bearing stream near Port Alberni. The officers collected samples of the runoff and laboratory analysis determined that the runoff was toxic to juvenile salmon. On May 31, 1999, the company was directed to take all necessary action to prevent any further deposits of harmful substances into the creek. Fisheries and Oceans Canada continued to monitor the site over the next several months and in late October 1999 further samples were collected from the dry land log sort and the nearby area. Again, the samples were determined to be toxic to fish. On November 1, 1999 MacMillan Bloedel Limited was acquired by Weyerhaeuser Company Limited. On March 10, 2000 Weyerhaeuser Company Limited was charged with violations of the Fisheries Act and the provincial Waste Management Act. On June 29, 2001 Weyerhaeuser Company Limited plead guilty to depositing a deleterious substance, wood leachate, into the environment adjacent to Johnston Creek. The company was fined a total of $40,000, of which $38,000 will be used by the Alberni Valley Enhancement Association for salt marsh restoration and enhancement in the Somass River estuary. Fisheries and Oceans Canada would like to remind the public that fish habitat destruction and pollution are serious violations of the Fisheries Act. The Department is very concerned with the protection of fish and fish habitat and asks for assistance from the general public in reporting any fisheries-related violations. Please call the 24-hour, toll-free Observe, Record and Report line at 1-800-465-4336. - 30 -
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