Engineer fined $5K for falsely reporting tailings dam near Parry Sound, Ont., had been repaired
An engineer who filed false reports that said a tailings dam protecting the Magnetawan River had been repaired has been fined $5,000.
Michael Wereszczynsky, who was convicted of one violation under the Environmental Protection Act, must also pay a victim fine surcharge of $1,250 and was given 12 months to pay.
"The conviction is for submitting false or misleading information to the ministry," the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks said in a news release Friday.
While Wereszczynsky was convicted in February of this year, the offences took place between Feb. 9, 2018, and May 9, 2018.
The case is related to the Kearney Graphite Mine, which operated from 1988 until 1994, when almost one million tonnes of ore was processed. It was formerly owned by Ontario Graphite Ltd. (OGL).
"In December 2011, OGL submitted a closure plan to the ministry detailing work that was required to rehabilitate the site once it was closed including repairs to the tailings dam," the ministry said.
"Tailings generated from the on-site milling process were deposited in an on-site pond, which was designed to have a capacity of 29 million dry tonnes of tailings accounting for over 34 years of milling operations at the expected milling rate. The Tailings Dam was constructed to prevent contaminated flow from entering a tributary to the Magnetawan River."
The tailings dam was in poor condition by September 2017 and an engineering consulting firm recommended repairs to its embankment be made a priority.
Province ordered repairs
The province ordered repairs in January 2018, directing OGL to have a qualified person submit monthly reports updating repairs to the dam.
"OGL retained Michael Wereszczynsky as a qualified person to complete the work as required," the news release said.
"At the time, Mr. Wereszczynsky was a professional mining engineer who had been formerly employed by OGL."
He submitted monthly reports from February until May 2018 that said repairs to the embankment had been completed.
"Further, the reports indicated that various equipment had been installed and was operational at the site including a continuous pH meter, a pressure transducer, an aerator and a sparger system," the news release said.
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
"Ministry staff attended the site between March 2018 and May 2018 and discovered that the equipment was either non-operational or had not been installed as stated in the monthly reports."
Not only that, but the embankment had also not actually been repaired. An investigation ensued, leading to the charges under the Environmental Protection Act.
Read the full release here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than half of human trafficking incidents in Canada remain unsolved
More than half of human trafficking incidents remained unsolved in Canada by police as the number of incidents increased over the past decade, according to new data released Friday.
Human remains found in Markham, Ont. in 1980 belonged to prison escapee: police
More than 44 years after human remains were found in a rural area of Markham, Ont., police are revealing that the deceased was an inmate who had escaped prison just a month before his body was found.
WATCH 'It's mind-boggling': Drought reveals U.S. town submerged in the 1940s
Hundreds of people are flocking to see a rare site in Pennsylvania: remnants of a historic town that is usually underwater.
Manitoba RCMP identify infant human remains, asking public for help with investigation
Manitoba RCMP are looking for more information after the remains of an infant were identified.
Those typing monkeys will never produce Shakespeare's works, mathematicians say
Talented though they may be, monkeys will never type out the complete works of William Shakespeare, or even a short book, a new study suggests.
Auto theft probe leads to arrest of 59 suspects, recovery of more than 300 stolen vehicles: Toronto police
Toronto police say 59 suspects are facing a total of 300 charges in connection with an auto theft and re-vinning probe.
'I couldn't stay home': Canadian with no prior military training joins Ukrainian forces
In the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Adam Oake, a Canadian with no prior military training, sold all of his Toronto Maple Leafs memorabilia to buy a plane ticket.
Children's doctors reporting unusual increase in walking pneumonia cases in Canada
Children's hospitals across the country are seeing an unusual increase in the number of serious and more complicated cases of walking pneumonia affecting much younger patients, according to medical experts.
Life with narcolepsy: 'It's not a joke, it's a very serious illness'
Matthew Horsnell began falling asleep for no reason when he was in sixth grade.