Red Rock mill, owner fined

A court case involving Red Rock Mill Inc. has wrapped up, with a series of hefty fines being levied against the company and its president, Bob Van Patten. 

The Ministry of the Environment had originally laid nine charges under the Environmental Protection Act last October.  The matter was dealt with this week in Provincial Offences Court.

Five of the nine charges were withdrawn, but the company and Van Patten pleaded guilty to the other four offenses. 

They include failing to submit a report regarding waste stored on-site; failure to apply for approval of a sewage treatment system and failure to provide proof of a continuous electricity supply at the mill site. 

Red Rock Mill Inc. received fines totaling slightly more than $50,000, and Van Patten himself received $10,000 in fines. 

He and the company have been given 12 months to pay. 

Van Patten acquired the former Norampac mill in 2007 and had announced plans to convert it into a manufacturing facility for hardwood flooring underlay.  He said delays in getting a power-purchase agreement and a provincial wood supply scuttled those plans. 

Van Patten is now negotiating the sale of the mill to another firm with local ties to Red Rock.