ABERCROMBIE, Nova Scotia (From The News) - Northern Pulp will be fined $225,000 after effluent from its plant leaked into a local river.

Northern Pulp was charged following an Environment Canada investigation into an alleged incident between June 10 and 11, 2014. This is the same period that Northern Pulp had a leak in one of its effluent lines in the Pictou Landing area.

The charge is to unlawful deposit or permitting deposit of a deleterious substance, namely pulp and paper effluent, in water frequented by fish.

A sentencing hearing took place Wednesday in Pictou provincial court with a joint recommendation put forward by the Crown and defense that $225,000 be paid to an environmental damages fund and distributed to groups that support suitable restoration projects.

The recommendation suggests that $75,000 be allotted to each of the Mi'kmaq conservation group and the Pictou County Rivers Association while the other $75,000 would be available recipients that meet program's guidelines for conservation and restoration projects.

Paul Adams with the Public Prosecution Services said Pictou Landing First Nations may be one of those recipients if it chooses to apply for the funding, but Judge Del Atwood said he was reserving his decision in the case to determine if more specific information is needed in terms of the allotment of the final $75,000.

According to the facts of the case, the effluent leak was discovered at 7 a.m. on June 10, 2014, by Northern Pulp employees and a break in the pipe was located 40 minutes later on the Pictou Landing side of the East River, about 110 meters from the shoreline. Untreated effluent flowed from the pipeline break into a wetland area where it pooled before discharging into the adjacent Easter River/Pictou Harbour.

Following an investigation, it was determined that 47,000,000 liters of effluent had been released into area.

Adams said the mill was shut down immediately for two weeks and took full responsibility for the leak, which it reported immediately. He said the company also took appropriate steps to guard against any further environmental harm and co-operated fully in all investigations.

He said the pipeline was in an "advanced stage of deterioration at the rupture site" which showed visible cracks, leaks and extensive erosion of the pipeline at the rupture site. A 14-inch oval hole was discovered at the bottom of the pipeline where the discharge occurred.

The Crown said Northern Pulp had an effluent pipeline inspection plan in place at the time but there wasn't an internal inspection of the land-based portion of the pipeline since the company assumed responsibility and maintenance of the effluent pipeline and treatment facility in 2008.

The Crown said there was "no overt indication of environmental harm to the impacted fish habitat" as a result of the effluent in the water and no dead fish were spotted.

Northern Pulp immediately started a remedial plan that included sandbags in the areas were effluent was seen and the installation of silt curtains in the affected area. Vacuum pumper trucks were brought in to remove the pooling effluent and waste from the area to prevent additional discharge into the East River/Pictou Harbour. The court was told the leak cost the company in excess of $400,000 which includes repairs to the pipe, environmental analysis, consulting fees and removal of the effluent.

Since the June 2014, the pipeline where the break occurred has been fully replaced and reinforced. An internal inspection of the effluent pipeline has also taken place and repairs were completed to other areas of concern. A new and improved alarm system has also been installed for identifying leaks along the effluent line.

Northern Pulp entered a guilty plea in January but the sentencing was adjourned until Wednesday to allow the Crown time to get victim impact statements from Pictou Landing First Nation community.

Judge Del Atwood said there was no provision under the Fisheries Act that requires victim impact statements but considering the history between the First Nations community and the mill, he needed to hear more from those directly affected.

The effluent leak drew national media attention when protesters set up a blockade to the pipe in hopes of forcing the provincial government to clean up Boat Harbour, a tidal lagoon within Pictou Landing First Nation. It has been leased by the province to be used by Northern Pulp as an effluent treatment facility for the past 47 years.

The protest ended with the signing of the agreement in principle and the government committed to enacting into law timelines on stopping the flow of effluent into Boat Harbour and the site's remediation.

In April, the province announced plans to shut down Boat Harbour by 2020 and set aside $50 million for cleanup.

On Wednesday, a thick stack of papers labelled as a community impact statement was filed with the court that the judge said he found very helpful.

"I was really surprised that they were being fined because we didn't hear about it until we received a message they were in court," said Pictou Landing First Nations Chief Andrea Paul. "The pipe had burst before in the East River, I believe in 2009, so for the federal Department of Environment to come forward and put forth some serious charges really puts the message out there that we have to protect our environment, our fish and the fish habitat."