Sherritt International Corp. agreed to pay a C$1 million fine after admitting to three instances of violating the Fisheries Act to the Provincial Court of Alberta, CBC News reported Oct. 3, citing Erin Eacott, counsel with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

The violations date back to between 2011 and 2012 and relate to wastewater spills from the Coal Valley mine, which the company owned from 2001 to April 2014, when it was sold to Westmoreland Coal Co.

In an official statement, Sherritt admitted that Coal Valley deposited half a million liters of mine wastewater from settling ponds into the Erith river. The company's guilty plea averted a three-week trial that was supposed to start Oct. 9.