VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Environment and Climate Change Canada announced on Tuesday that British Columbia-based energy junior Painted Pony Energy (formerly Painted Pony Petroleum) has been fined C$235 000 under the Migratory Birds Convention Act.
According to the Ministry, following a guilty plea on May 31, 2017, the Provincial Court of British Columbia, on December 22, handed down the sentence for depositing a substance harmful to migratory birds, in an area frequented by migratory birds.
The C$235 000 penalty will be dispersed as follows: C$5 000 to the Environmental Damages Fund; C$115 000 to Ducks Unlimited Canada; C$57 500 to the MacKenzie Nature Observatory; and C$57 500 to the Oiled Wildlife Society of British Columbia.
The Ministry said that an investigation by federal enforcement officers revealed that, between March and April 2013, 14 deceased migratory birds were observed on the surface of an above-ground containment tank located north of Fort St John, British Columbia. At the time of the offence, Painted Pony operated fracking sites that included open storage tanks to accommodate fluids used during the fracking process.
Following the incident, company employees installed deterrent measures at the containment tank in an effort to prevent additional migratory birds from being attracted to and trapped in the tanks, the Ministry advised.
As a result of this conviction, the company's name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.