An Ontario court in Walkerton convicted a South Bruce Peninsula property owner for repeatedly failing to comply with a court order related to well water contamination from a neighboring gas station site.
David Robert Allen Sutter was convicted in 2025 of eight violations under Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act for failing to meet the requirements of a prior court order.
Sutter was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined a total of $80,000, along with a $20,000 victim fine surcharge. He was given six months to pay the fines. According to a provincial court bulletin, the court also issued a new order under Section 190(1) and 190(2) of the Environmental Protection Act requiring him to comply with a 2019 court order tied to the same matter.
Between 2005 and 2023, Sutter was the registered owner of 1137 Highway 6 in the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, a site that had previously operated as a gas station.
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Concerns about contamination in the area date back nearly two decades. In 2006, the owner of a neighbouring property at 1135 Highway 6 hired an environmental consultant to assess their land. The resulting report identified gasoline-range contamination on that property.
In April 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation conducted an unrelated investigation near 1137 Highway 6 and identified hydrocarbon impacts attributed to the former gas station pump island located on Sutter’s property.
Nearly a decade later, in September 2016, the neighbouring property owner contacted the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) about concerns over well water quality. Ministry staff sampled the well and found benzene levels exceeding Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards. Based on the results, officials determined the contaminant was gasoline and advised that the well water was not safe for human consumption.
In April 2017, the ministry issued a Provincial Officer’s Order requiring Sutter to retain a qualified professional to identify, manage and remediate hydrocarbon impacts on and off the property. The order also required him to provide the neighbouring property with a reliable source of potable water in relation to hydrocarbon contamination. He did not comply.
In 2019, Sutter was convicted of nine violations under the Environmental Protection Act for failing to comply with the 2017 order. In addition to a fine, the court issued an order requiring him to complete the outstanding action items related to the contamination.
By 2020, officials determined that none of the required measures had been completed. As of October 2020, Sutter remained in non-compliance with the court order. Since 2017, the neighbouring property owner has been without a reliable source of potable water that should have been provided under the remediation requirements.
The MECP’s Environmental Investigations and Enforcement Branch investigated the matter and laid the charges that led to the latest conviction.
If only David Suzuki and his environmental cohorts had assisted in Berendsen v Ontario he might not have signed the NDA , 4 days before the doors of the S of C opened. He was 75 years of age , at this and had spent from 1983- 90 with official castigating him as a bad farmer as the cows did like the water. In 1990, asphalt in the swamp was revealed. He had to seek leave from the S of C to litigate the Province of Ontario. This achieved in 2000. He then moved through the Supreme Court , then the court of Appeal where they 3 judges all stated that asphalt was great for bathtubs and swimming pools. This was then appealed to the S of C. If only Suzuki and the environmental had stated to Berendsen, enter the court , if you are not successful, we will cover your losses, If you win , congrats , In either event Suzuki and the cohorts would have looked good in trying to protect water and would have raised even more money See heighington et al v Ontario as we wrote case law in Canada as it applies to waste on/in land