Owners of Ssonix in St. Catharines to pay nearly $3.7M after deadly 2023 explosion

The Ontario Land Tribunal ordered the owners of a hazardous waste facility in St. Catharines to pay nearly $3.7 million to the city after a deadly explosion in 2023.

A fire at the facility at 20 Keefer Rd in January of 2023 caused an early morning explosion that killed 37-year-old Ryan Konkin, who was an employee at the time.

The Ministry of Environment ordered the facility to submit a closure plan by Mar. 3, and by June 19, the waste disposal site’s approval was revoked, closing it down.

The ministry had laid charges against Ssonix and its directors Steve Baker, Sharon Baker, and Tyler Baker under both the Environmental Protection Act and Ontario Water Resources Act.

The charges against Sharon have since been withdrawn, and some of the remaining provincial charges have been moved to criminal court.

The City of St. Catharines had issued an order — a Municipal Cost Recovery Order — of $4,155,116 in relation to the prevention, elimination or amelioration of a spilled pollutant at Ssonix.

Following an appeal heard last week, the tribunal cut more than $467,000 from cleanup costs, billing the owners of Ssonix $3.7 million. The cuts included legal fees, which the tribunal said did not relate to the purpose of containing or cleaning the spill.

READ MORE: Ministry of Environment orders SSonix in St. Catharines to close