Burlington Ontario, Canada – 6/16/2004
1097739 Ontario Limited, operating as Granite Ridge Golf Club, has been fined $10,000 ? plus a victim fine surcharge -after pleading guilty to one count of non-compliance with the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA).

1097739 Ontario Limited operates a 36-hole golf course located in Milton, Ontario. The company is authorized, through a certificate of approval issued in May, 1997 by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), to operate a well that provides the golf course?s clubhouse with water for drinking, showering and preparing food. The certificate of approval also contains a number of conditions relating to the operation of the water supply and treatment system, including a requirement that samples of raw and treated water be collected and analysed for the concentrations of specific substances at specified frequencies. An MOE investigation in 2003 revealed that no sampling and analysis had been conducted by the golf club between 1997 and 2003.

1097739 Ontario Limited acted contrary to Section 107(3) of the OWRA by failing to sample and analyse raw and treated water for total coliform and E. coli on a weekly basis, benzene, toluene and sylene on a quarterly basis, and nitrates and fluoride on an annual basis, as set out under its certificate of approval. Under a joint submission, the company was fined $10,000 for this breach. 1097739 Ontario Limited subsequently took remedial action to address the issues that lead to this conviction.

Justice of the Peace William T. Phipps accepted the guilty plea and fined the company on June 15, 2004 in the Ontario Court of Justice in Burlington.

Contacts: Mark Rabbior
Communications Branch
(416) 314-6084
Ministry of the Environment