The government in Alberta has recently charged a pulp mill in the region with several offences, under the Environmental Protection Act.
West Fraser Mills in Hinton, Alta., faces a total of six charges after the release of a substance in September 2014 that allegedly wasn’t immediately reported to Alberta Environment. The company also faces one charge of failing to follow safety rules while unloading a chemical from a truck, as reported by News 95.7.
“As soon as this was discovered, our employees reacted immediately to remedy the situation and notified the appropriate agencies,” said James Gorman, vice president of external and government relations at West Fraser.
Gorman added that the company hadn’t informed the authorities until a material was delivered to the wrong location at the mill site. Also, West Fraser takes the safety and environmental responsibilities very seriously and the company reviewed, corrected and improved its material handling activities after the incident.
Given the fact that this issue is still before the courts, neither West Fraser nor the officials with Alberta provided any additional information about the incident, including the substance which was released.
According to News 95.7, West Fraser’s first court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 19 in Hinton.
The company owns 40 mills across Western Canada and the southern United States and it’s one of the largest lumber companies in North America.
