Ottawa construction company fined $275K for dumping into wetland

An Ottawa construction company convicted of discharging construction sediment into a drain that flows into the Jock River in 2013 has been fined $275,000.

Thomas Cavanagh Construction Limited was convicted in June of four charges under the Ontario Water Resources Act, according to Ontario's environment ministry.

The construction company was installing stormwater infrastructure at the Blackstone community in South Kanata in 2013 when ministry inspectors noted excessive sediment getting into the man-made Monahan Drain wetland, which drains into the Jock River.

Inspectors also noted sediment and erosion control measures were ineffective, the province said, and that the measures weren't being properly maintained and were inconsistent with the plan the province had approved.

A second inspection noted some improvements but said problems persisted.

An investigation was later launched and the company was charged.

On June 9, the company was convicted four offences, and on Friday it was fined $220,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $55,000. The company has three months to pay the fine, according to the province.