The company taking apart derelict vessels in Union Bay, B.C., has been hit with a pollution abatement order from the province.

Deep Water Recovery is illegally allowing toxic effluent to run off into Baynes Sound and the marine environment off Vancouver Island’s east coast, B.C.'s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has found.

Discharges from the ship-breaking operations are collected in sump pits, which occasionally overflow with untreated effluent, the province says. Testing of that runoff confirmed high concentrations of pollutants, including copper, iron, zinc and cadmium.

“I am satisfied with reasonable grounds that a substance is causing pollution on or about lands occupied by Deep Water Recovery Ltd.,” wrote Jennifer Mayberry, director of operations and compliance for the environment ministry.

The ministry has ordered Deep Water Recovery to immediately stop the release of pollution and take additional steps to monitor and report discharges from the site, which is around 80 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo. If not, the company could face penalties of up to $300,000 in fines and six months of jail time, according to the order issued on March 15.