A food manufacturer in Kingsville has been fined more than $287,000.
Sun-Brite Foods, located on County Road 34, has been convicted of two violations under the Ontario Water Resources Act and one offence under the Environmental Protection Act.
The Ministry of Environment says their inspectors found the company permitted the discharge of process water into the Melville Bruner Drain extension in September 2015, which may have impaired the quality of the water.
The Ministry says on Sept. 18, 2015, it received several complaints regarding a sewer odour in a Kingsville municipal drain.
During the inspection of the Highway #3 municipal drain, ministry staff observed a flowing discharge that was black-grey in colour, warm and had a sulphur odour.
Samples were taken and tested, and the results indicated that the waters were toxic for Daphnia Magna and Trout, and were therefore impaired by the discharge.
The ministry’s Spills Action Centre (SAC) was notified, and SAC advised that no spill had been reported to them directly.
The company was notified and Sun-Brite representatives attended the site. One representative confirmed that the company had been having issues with their wastewater plant.
Ministry staff asked the company to stop all discharges immediately, and to commence clean-up, which they did.
On Wednesday, Sun-Brite Foods Inc. was convicted of two offences under the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA), and one offence under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), was fined a total of $230,000 plus Victim Fine Surcharge (VFS) of $57,500 and was given one year to pay the fine.
