Alleged water pollution caught on TV.
Miners on Discovery Channel’s ‘Gold Rush’ are in territorial court after allegedly pouring gasoline in a dredge pond and lighting it on fire.
A Yukon miner who is featured in the Discovery Channel reality series Gold Rush is on trial in Yukon Territorial Court.
Tony Beets who runs the Paradise Hill mine near Dawson City, is charged under the Waters Act with allegedly permitting the deposit of waste into water, failing to report it, and failing to comply with conditions of a water licence.
It’s alleged some gas was poured onto a dredge pond in October of 2014, and set on fire, with a complaint only arising after the act was featured on the TV show.
The brief segment was played for the court Wednesday morning, and showed Beets standing in front of the fire, saying it was a ‘Viking baptism’ for the dredge.
Welder Marc Favron testified he was the one who dumped about a gallon and a bit of gas on the pond, and lit it on fire, saying he did ask Beets if he could do it, to which Beets replied he didn’t care.
Favron told the court he pled guilty to charges of his own and paid a $1,700 fine, saying he did it on off hours for fun, and it wasn’t a staged scene even though it was caught on film and aired on TV.
The trial is expected to wrap up Wednesday.