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Prairie Mines pleads guilty to Obed Mine spill charges

Alberta - June 11, 2017

The coal mining company responsible for contaminating a northern Alberta river system has received one of the largest penalties for a single release in Alberta history under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA).

Prairie Mines & Royalty ULC will have to pay a penalty of $925 000 as a result of a spill that contaminated water and damaged the creek bed of two tributaries of the Athabasca River. In addition to the penalty levied under Alberta’s EPEA, the company has pleaded guilty to charges under the federal Fisheries Act.

The spill occurred in October 2013 at the Obed Mountain Coal Mine, about 30 kilometres east of Hinton, Alberta. Full details on the penalty are available on the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) website.

In the media

The Globe and Mail
Coal mine fined $4.5-million for 2013 spill that contaminated Alberta river system
June 9, 2017 www.theglobeandmail.com

CBC News
Coal mine fined $4.5M for 2013 spill that contaminated Athabasca River
June 9, 2017 www.cbc.ca

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