The BC government pleaded not guilty to eight charges today in connection with the July 2013 Lemon Creek fuel spill. Six charges are under the Environmental Management Act and the rest under the Fisheries Act.
A lawyer for Executive Flight Centre, which is also charged, along with its driver, wasn’t ready to enter a plea today but indicated the company would also plead not guilty at its next appearance in Nelson Provincial Court on March 7.
Judge Rob Brown expressed frustration at the case’s plodding pace. Charges were laid last July and the first court appearance was in September. But the company’s lawyer told Brown they aren’t quite ready to confirm that they have received full disclosure from prosecutors.
Crown counsel told the court it intends to call up to 60 witnesses for a trial that could last four to six weeks, but that depends on what facts the defendants are willing to admit.
The spill occurred after a truck carrying jet fuel to be used by helicopters fighting a forest fire took a wrong turn onto a logging road and overturned, spilling 33,000 litres.
It entered Lemon Creek and then the Slocan, Kootenay, and Columbia rivers resulting in a mass evacuation and orders not to swim in or drink from those bodies of water.
Slocan Valley resident Marilyn Burgoon launched a private prosecution, which was subsequently taken over by the federal government.