BACKGROUNDER
Illegal Water Taking at Leitrim and elsewhere
On October 26, 2007, alerted by observations made by members of the community, the Ministry of the Environment issued a Provincial Officer’s Order to Findlay Creek Properties Ltd., Taggart Construction and 1374537 Ontario Ltd. as provided for in section 34.1 of the Ontario Water Resources Act. The Order requires that water taking not exceed 50,000 liters/day while no Permit is issued; and that weekly monitoring reports be submitted to confirm that the limit has not been exceeded.
(Wesley M. Nicol, the founder of Tartan Homes, one of the two companies building houses in the Findlay Creek Village subdivision, is the only Director of 1374537 Ontario Limited. James Taggart, of Taggart Construction (the company doing site preparation and servicing work in the Findlay Creek Village subdivision), is the only Director of Findlay Creek Properties Limited and an executive with Tamarack Homes, the other company building houses in the Findlay Creek Village subdivision.)
The Officer’s Report had found that, between September 10 and October 25, the legal limit had been exceeded during 29 out of the 43 days. The Ottawa District Office also forwarded the issue of non-compliance to its Investigation and Enforcement Branch for their consideration; an investigation is ongoing. As well, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans was made aware of the site alterations that have taken place.
This is not the first time that Taggart Construction has been implicated in illegal water taking:
* On November 14, 2006, a Provincial Offences Act Notice (Ticket) was issued at the Jackson Trails Subdivision in Stitsville for taking water and discharging it to a sedimentation pond without the necessary permits in place.
* On December 8, 2006, a Provincial Offences Notice was issued on the site of the Fairwinds Subdivision, Phase 1 (Mattamy Homes) in Kanata, for water taking exceeding the 50,000 liters/day limit without a Permit.
Both at Jackson Trails and at Fairwinds the markings on the machinery showed the Taggart Construction name.
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February 12, 2009
Court documents show that Findlay Creek Properties Ltd., a numbered company, Taggart Construction Limited and Michael E. Taggart – developers and operators of Findlay Creek Village at Leitrim Wetland – have been charged by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment with seven offences under the Ontario Water Resources Act. One alleged offence concerns providing false or misleading information to the Ministry, another is failure to comply with an Order and five are for illegally taking water during 29 days over a period of six weeks in September and October of 2007.
If convicted, penalties for the first two offences could range from a minimum of $5,000 each for Mr. Taggart and a $25,000 minimum for the corporations, to a maximum of $4 million and $6 million respectively. Penalties for illegal water taking carry no minimum but could be as high as $50,000 for Mr. Taggart and $250,000 for the corporations.
The charges were sworn on August 13, 2008. The next court appearance (at the Elgin Street court house) is March 4, 2009 for a pre-trial hearing.
Background
Individuals associated with the Friends of Leitrim Wetland had alerted the Ministry about possible illegal water taking. As a result, a Report and Provincial Officer’s Order was issued on October 26, 2007 and the Ministry’s Investigation and Enforcement Branch initiated an investigation. That the Ministry now decided to lay charges illustrates the value of individual volunteers and citizen groups becoming actively involved in environmental and community issues.
For the complete text of the court documents, please go here.
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Friends of Leitrim Wetland Media Release of February 13, 2009
Communiqué de presse par Les amis du marais de Leitrim, le 13 février 2009
Media coverage
CJOH News, Friday, February 13, 2009 19:00:59: “Leitrim developers accused of water violations” – ctvottawa.ca
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December 4, 2009
According to an Ottawa Citizen news story, on December 3, 2009, Taggart Construction received a fine of $5,000 after pleading guilty to one charge of failing to comply with a water use Order. Six other charges were dropped as part of a plea bargain.
The news article does not say that the Order was issued as a result of citizens having alerted the Ministry in the first place. The events relate to the development of Findlay Creek Village at Leitrim Wetland.
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July 16, 2010
Findlay Creek Properties pleads guilty, fined $60,000
On June 24, 2010, charges originally laid in September 2009 for offences alleged to have taken place in May 2008, finally came to a conclusion before a Justice of the Peace in Ottawa.
As part of a plea bargain, only one of the three companies pleaded guilty, and this to only one of the seven charges. The other charges and the charges against the other companies and Mr. Michael Taggart were withdrawn.
The guilty plea was for “discharging or causing or permitting the discharge of a material, namely suspended solid silt, into or in Findlay Creek which said discharge may impair the quality of the water of any waters.” The company was fined $60,000, plus the victim fine surcharge, payable in 60 days.
An agreed statement of facts describes the siltation that occurred — an observed suspended solids level of 1510 mg/L downstream of a sedimentation pond — as caused by a section of the bank of the Findlay Creek Extension having sloughed or eroded due to heavy rainfall that lifted the protective cocoamats.
The statement also notes the additional steps that all companies involved have undertaken since the event including additional training for their employees.
For the Prosecution Disposition Report, go here.
