Charges laid in connection with North River fish kill says province

Brookfield Gardens Inc. has been charged with three counts under the P.E.I. Environmental Protection Act in connection with a fish kill on the North River in August.

Thousands of dead fish — brook trout, rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon — were found along a 3.5-kilomentre section of the North River in central P.E.I., on Aug. 9. 

According to the province the charges arose from the investigation into the North River fish kill. "The charges are the result of the cultivation of an agricultural crop in the North Milton area." said a statement released Wednesday by the Department of Environment’s Public Safety Division.

The charges fall under the Environmental Protection Act’s, Watercourse and Wetland Protection Regulations. Two counts are related to cultivating land within 15 metres of a watercourse, and one count is related to farming on land that is too steep.

The province says the charges relate only to the company's farming practices.  No link has been made to what killed the fish. Investigators are now testing some of the dead fish for pesticide residues. 

Eddy Dykerman, one of the owners of the farm, told CBC the company planted carrots in the field in question and planted grass around the edge of the field this spring, to create a buffer zone, as required by law. 

Brookfield Gardens Inc. is scheduled to appear in Charlottetown Provincial Court Nov. 24.