Crown withdraws environmental charges in N.S. highway-twinning case

Prosecutors in provincial court in Halifax have withdrawn environmental charges relating to a highway-twinning project on the South Shore.

Eight charges were laid against Dexter Construction and a sub-contractor, Design Point.

The charges stem from work the companies were doing on a section of Highway 103 near a brook in Queensland.

Sediment from the construction got into the brook and eventually into a lake known locally as "the Puddle."

"The issue at trial would have been whether the parties took reasonable or lawful steps to prevent the releases from occurring," Crown prosecutor Brian Cox said outside court Friday morning.

"There was no actual harm to plant or animal species disclosed by the evidence in this case. It was the potential for that harm."

Charges were to go to trial next month

The eight incidents of sediment release stretched from late 2021 to late 2022. The charges were to go to trial next month.

Cox said many considerations went into deciding not to proceed to trial, including the circumstances of the alleged offences, what steps may have been taken to comply with the environment act, what omissions may have been made, the actual impact on the environment and the impact on interested parties in the community.

Cox said they also weighed the benefits of having the highway twinned and of saving the time and expense of a full trial.

The Crown also stayed charges against the Department of Public Works. Cox said the stay will enable the Crown to revisit those charges in future to see whether promised remediation has taken place.