FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Guilty verdict in Syncrude case applauded
Aug 23, 2010 05:22 PM
Lawsuit launched by Ecojustice confirms need to eliminate tailings ponds
CALGARY — Alberta provincial court’s guilty verdict in the Syncrude ducks case confirms the need to eliminate toxic tailings ponds and the risks they pose, Ecojustice said today.
Some 1,600 ducks died after landing in a Syncrude tailings pond in April 2008. The pond’s bird deterrent systems were not in place at the time.Judge K.E. Tjosvold of the Provincial Court of Alberta found
Syncrude guilty today of allowing hazardous substances to contact
animals under the Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act
and guilty of depositing hazardous substances in an area frequented by
migratory birds under the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act.
No convictions were entered. Further proceedings this summer will
determine whether convictions should be entered on both counts because
the charges are similar in nature. Sentencing will follow those
arguments.
“This decision confirms that tar sands operators must take
responsibility for their actions. Not only did Syncrude create the
hazard to the ducks and other wildlife in the form of the tailings pond,
they failed to take the necessary actions to prevent the ducks from
landing on these ponds,” said Barry Robinson, the Ecojustice staff
lawyer who first launched legal action against Syncrude in 2009.
He said harm to wildlife is just one of the problems tailings ponds
pose. They also leak hazardous substances into surface water and
groundwater, which allow toxins to seep into and threaten entire
ecosystems.
Ecojustice commenced the private prosecution against Syncrude on
behalf of an individual, Jeh Custer, in January 2009 when it appeared
that both the federal and provincial governments had delayed taking
action. Both the federal and provincial governments subsequently laid
charges and the matter went to trial in March and April of 2010.
-30-
Contact:
Barry Robinson, staff lawyer | Ecojustice
403-830-2032
403-830-2032
For all other media inquiries, please call:
Kimberly Shearon, communications associate | Ecojustice
604-695-5618 x242
604-695-5618 x242
###
Print this
Send this
