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Surrey ice-maker fined $350,000 for fish kill

Company that makes ice released ammonia into storm sewer in 2014
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Arctic Glacier Ice's Surrey location | Google Maps

A company that makes ice in Surrey has been fined $350,000 for an industrial accident that killed fish more than four and a half years ago.

Arctic Glacier Ice, which makes packaged ice, pleaded guilty and was fined under the Fisheries Act, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The company has until May 5, 2019 to pay the fine and until November 5, 2019 to audit its environmental systems and make improvements.

An unknown number of fish were killed when an ammonia fluid from the company's Surrey plant ended up in the storm sewer system and into an unnamed creek that flows into the Fraser River sometime between April 28 and May 2, 2014.

The spill was the result of an accidental spill during maintenance operations, according to Marko Goluza, regional director of Environment Canada's enforcement branch. Goluza said the spill was accidental but preventable.

“In this case, the ammonia solution into the storm sewer, and that shouldn’t be the case, ever,” he said.

The minimum fine for industrial pollution that negatively impacts the marine environment is $100,000. The maximum is $4 million.

Arctic Glacier is headquartered in Winnipeg and has locations across Canada.

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