The Town of Trenton has been ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 after pleading guilty to one count of violating the Federal Fisheries Act. The Town entered the plea in Provincial Court in Pictou on Thursday. The fine will be deposited into the federal government’s Environmental Damages Fund. The charge is in connection with an investigation by Environment and Climate Change Canada that determined raw sewage was discharged into Lowden Brook between June, 2019 and January, 2020. Investigators determined the outfall was connected to the town’s municipal infrastructure. Lab results determined high levels of E.coli at the outfall and culvert. Following a directive by the department to the town, deposits of raw sewage into the river stopped in January, 2020. Lowden Brook is a tributary of the East River that supports several fish species including Speckled and Brown Trout as well as Atlantic Salmon.
Pictou Court House
In addition to the fine, the town has been ordered to meet a number of conditions over the next 18 months. That includes training on the Fisheries Act and proper effluent sampling protocols by town staff and contractors, completing routine sampling and publishing emergency contact information and information about the incident and sentencing on its web site.
Because of this conviction, the Town of Trenton will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry. The Registry contains information on convictions of corporations registered for offences committed under certain federal environmental laws.