Fish kill trial adjourned again

The trial of a western P.E.I. farmer charged in connection with fish kills this summer has been adjourned for a third time.

Warren Ellis of Mount Royal is facing four charges under P.E.I.'s Environmental Protection Act for violating buffer zone regulations. The charges came after hundreds of fish were found dead in three rivers in West Prince in mid-July. It was called one of the largest fish kills ever in the province.

Ellis's plea was set for Provincial Court in Summerside Tuesday, but his lawyer asked for another delay. The Crown agreed to the three-week extension. Ellis's plea is now scheduled for Jan. 31.

Four months ago another farmer, Avard Smallman, pleaded guilty to buffer zone violation charges laid at the same time. He was fined $3,000.

Buffer zone regulations are designed to protect Island waterways from agricultural silt and chemicals. They require a 15-metre space between waterways and fields growing row crops such as potatoes.