By Bryan Eneas

Dumped boat beached near satellite station

Dec 15, 2017 | 4:00 PM

A couple out for a walk with their dog discovered a beached boat near the Prince Albert satellite station, the latest item in an area used for illegal dumping.

Steve and Deb Jeffers take their dog for a walk near the station roughly once a week in the spring, fall and winter months.

“We’ve seen [the boat] several times,” Deb said. “I always walk the dogs out at the satellite station and it was there in the fall.”

Steve said the pair were both shocked and disgusted to see an abandoned boat in the woods.  

“It’s sad that people use that area as a dumping grounds and they don’t take proper measures with their trash,” Steve said. “We just like to walk out there; it’s beautiful.”

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Rich Hildebrand from the Ministry of Environment said while illegal dumping has happened in the area around the past, there have been no recent reports of illicit waste.

He said it might be the first time he’s heard of a boat turning up as an illegally dumped item.

“It’s one of the first ones I can think of,” Hildebrand said. “There’s been lots of other things that people have thrown away or disposed of. It’s definitely something I haven’t heard of.”

Hildebrand recommended contacting local or municipal authorities to find acceptable locations to dispose of motorboats. Officials with the city of Prince Albert confirmed the landfill accepts fiberglass boats.

Illegal dumping comes with different repercussions according to Hildebrand.

“The minimum fine for littering is $580,” he said. “In more severe cases there could be court appearances that follow, and then there’s the possibility the court would assign a different fine.”

Depending on the case, clean-up and restoration costs could come back to the illegal dumper. Hildebrand encouraged anyone who finds illegally dumped goods, or see anyone participating in illegal dumping to contact conservation officers or the Turn in Poacher line, which also fields calls about waste.

“A lot of these things can pose some serious environmental risks, you know, contaminating the water supply or soil and other potential health issues,” Hildebrand said. “There can be chemicals that can be leaked from some of these things with the chemicals.”

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas