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Seabreeze Cleaners and Owner Required to Pay $8500 for Environmental Offences and Providing False Information
RED DEER, Alta. -- February 24, 2011 -- Seabreeze Cleaners Ltd. pleaded guilty in Alberta Provincial Court on February 23, 2011, to one count of having open containers of waste perchloroethylene; a violation pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. Darrin McPherson, owner of Seabreeze Cleaners Ltd., also pleaded guilty to one count of providing false information to an enforcement officer under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
Perchloroethylene, also known as tetrachloroethylene, and commonly called PERC, is a dry-cleaning solvent and is designated as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
Seabreeze Cleaners Ltd. was ordered to pay a $600 fine with an additional penalty of $5400 to be paid to the Environmental Damages Fund. Darrin McPherson was personally ordered to pay a $250 fine and an additional penalty of $2250 to be paid to the Environmental Damages Fund. Both penalties are for the specific purpose of environmental work in the Province of Alberta.
The Environmental Damages Fund is administered by Environment Canada, and was created in 1995 to provide the courts and companies with an option to direct monetary penalties and settlements to investments in the restoration of the environment. It helps ensure polluters take responsibility for their actions and enforces the “polluter pays” principle.
The convictions are a result of an investigation launched by Environment Canada in August 2009 following a routine inspection.
Further information on the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and the Environmental Damages Fund may be found at www.ec.gc.ca/cepaRegistry and www.ec.gc.ca/edf-fde.
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