An Aldergrove-based fuel supply company received a $200,000 fine for transferring petroleum products into tanks that weren’t registered or didn’t have their identification numbers visible, as required by law.
Last summer the company, Scamp Industries Inc., pleaded guilty to five counts contrary to the Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
The fine was imposed in May of this year and announced in early June by the federal government.
The money will go into the federal Environmental Damages Fund.
It was created in 1995 with the money coming from fines, court orders, and voluntary payments, and goes to projects that will benefit the environment.
Back in March of 2015 federal enforcement officers inspected several gas stations on federal and Indigenous lands in south-central B.C. including in the Kamloops and Salmon Arm areas where they found Scamp delivered to tanks without ID numbers visible nor proper registration.
In addition to the Langley head office, the company has branches in Prince George, Kamloops, and Duncan.
The company was given a written warning in early 2013 for delivering fuel to a Chilliwack gas station which had not registered its tank system with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The Langley Advance Times contacted the federal department that announced the fine to ask about whether the stations that owned the tanks also faced charges or legal action.
”Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Enforcement Branch did not deem necessary to recommend prosecution to the Public Prosecution of Canada or take punitive measures to secure compliance,” said Samantha Beyard, a media relations spokesperson. “Enforcement officers use a range of tools to address non-compliance, such as warning letters, tickets, compliance orders, administrative monetary penalties, directions, and charges initiating prosecutions. Prosecution may be pursued when the Crown prosecutor is satisfied there is a reasonable prospect of conviction and that the prosecution is in the public interest.”
The Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations came into force in 2008. The federal regulations are intended to reduce the risk of spills. The tank systems are numbered and are part of a federal registry of storage tanks. The regulations apply to storage-tank systems with a capacity of more than 230 litres, which contain petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, and home-heating oil, or allied petroleum products.
The Times asked Scamp Industries Ltd. in Gloucester for comment but did not receive a reply.
