ENVIRONMENT: Vale fined $30K for water spill in 2013

NEWFOUNDLAND – Vale Newfoundland and Labrador has been ordered by a provincial court to pay $30,000 after the company pled guilty to a violation of the federal Fisheries Act. The incident occurred in March 2013 when untreated and toxic effluent was discharged from the Voisey’s Bay nickel mine into Anaktalak Bay. The bulk of the penalty – $25,000 – will be directed to the Canadian government’s Environmental Damages Fund. The fund was created in 1995 to ensure that polluters pay for damages they cause by directing fines, court orders and other payments to projects that will benefit the environment. As a result of the conviction, Vale Newfoundland and Labrador will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry. Information about the expansion project at the Voisey’s Bay mine is available by clicking this link www.Vale.com/canada/EN/business/mining/nickel/vale-canada/voiseys-bay/Pages/Voiseys-Bay-Mine-Expansion-Project.aspx.