SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The actions of a former NWT Power Corporation employee led to the preventable 2006 breach of a dike at the Snare Forks hydro facility, Yellowknife territorial court heard on Oct. 14.

The Snare Forks hydro facility in June 2007 - more than a year after one of the dikes breached and water washed 110,000 cubic metres of sediment into a nearby lake over 13 days. - photo courtesy of NWT Power Corporation

"The employee's actions sit there unexplained," said Crown prosecutor John Cliffe, who added that consequent harm to fish habitat and vegetation at a nearby lake was "catastrophic."

Cliffe referred to a report based on an August 2005 survey of the water levels of dike number one indicating water levels weren't where they were supposed to be. The engineer who had the report didn't follow the proper procedures, according to Cliffe, adding the worker didn't act on the information or pass it on to power corp. officials who could have done something.

"Why didn't he forward it? That remains unanswered," Cliffe said during the two-day sentencing hearing for the corporation, which pleaded guilty in January to a charge under the Fisheries Act.

The dike burst on June 15, 2006, creating a 40-foot hole in it. The breach caused water to rush out for 13 days and deposited 110,000 cubic metres of sediment into Strutt Lake. This deposit created a delta that destroyed fish habitat and vegetation around the facility, located some 140 km northwest of Yellowknife.

The Crown is recommending between $600,000 and $700,000 in fines whereas the defence is asking for $200,000.

The Crown further argued the neglect by the engineer was compounded by the fact that the company realized that water levels were going to be higher from the spring thaw. The day before the dike broke, the only employee posted at the site went to check the water levels in the dike.

What he saw was water "ponding" on top of the dike, said Cliffe.

"It was too late," he said. "The company was not in a position to immediately respond.

"It may have not been intentional, but what happened here was a complete failure to maintain the dike," he said.

Defence lawyer Bill McNaughton explained the corporation faced logistical issues when attempting to deal with the problems, particularly trying to organize and gather qualified personnel working in different locations, as well as charter flight delays. The defence argued the information in the survey only gave figures on what the water levels in the dike were, but gave no indication the water levels were dangerously close to causing the dike to burst. The defence conceded the engineer who reviewed the report should have followed proper procedures.

"The person forgot about (the report), did not review it, did not pass it on," said McNaughton. In light of the incident, power corp. has improved its procedures so that an incident like this isn't repeated, he said.

The employee who failed to pass on the report, which was written by a consulting engineering firm, was not fired but left the company a couple of years later to pursue other opportunities, Leon Courneya, power corp. president and CEO, said after the hearing.

The parties will return to court on Jan. 19, 2011 when Malakoe intends to deliver a decision.

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