Operators of Prince Edward Island’s dairy farm Nobra Holsteins have pled guilty to charges under the Fisheries Act for a 2020 incident of polluting waters resulting in a large-scale fish kill. Court documents indicate that Nobra Holsteins had been experimenting with new manure spreading equipment in June 2020 when a hose disconnected and deposited liquid manure into a nearby stream for three hours. The spill killed over 600 brook trout and closed the nearby pond for swimming for the entire summer. The operators pled guilty to “unlawfully depositing, or permitting the deposit of, a deleterious substance in water frequented by fish” under the Fisheries Act. Justice Nancy Orr accepted the guilty plea as well as joint submission on sentencing from the prosecutor and defence. Nobra Holsteins have two years to pay a $50,000 fine, and they have until May 1st, 2022 to develop and implement a manure spill response and prevention plan. Read more here.
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