MONCTON, NB -- Twin Rivers Paper Company Inc. was fined $320,000 on December 18, 2015 in New Brunswick Provincial court after pleading guilty to offences under the Fisheries Act related to the deposit of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish.

On September 6, 2013, Twin Rivers Paper Company Inc. notified Environment and Climate Change Canada of a spill of evaporator condensate into the Madawaska River. Evaporator condensate is a by-product of the mill process and is deleterious to fish.

During the investigation, the mill reported two more deposits on March 3 and March 10, 2014, of effluent acutely lethal to fish into the Saint John River in contravention of the Pulp and Paper Effluent Regulations and the Fisheries Act.

The investigation determined that in 2013, the overflow tank of evaporator condensate was blocked in order to prepare for the mill's annual shutdown. This contributed to the spill into the Madawaska River. The deposits in 2014 occurred during dredging activities at the mill's secondary effluent treatment lagoon located in Saint-Basile, New Brunswick.

Of the total fine, $319,000 will be directed to the Environmental Damages Fund (EDF), with the remaining $1,000 directed to the court. As a result of this conviction, the company's name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.