Bennett Environmental's Largest Shareholder Requisitions a Meeting of Shareholders to Elect a New Board

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 16, 2011) - Bennett Environmental Inc.'s largest shareholder, Second City Capital Partners I, Limited Partnership ("Second City"), today announced that it has requisitioned a meeting of shareholders of Bennett Environmental to elect a new board. Second City has requested that Bennett Environmental convene the meeting at the earliest possible date and preferably by May 31, 2011.

Second City owns approximately 23% of the issued and outstanding shares of Bennett Environmental. As outlined in the requisition, a copy of which has been filed on SEDAR, Second City has lost confidence in certain of Bennett Environmental's current board and management. The objective of the meeting of shareholders would be to replace the majority of the current board of directors.

Pending the meeting of shareholders, Second City requests that Bennett Environmental take no steps, including possible mergers and acquisitions, that would prevent the new board from determining the future path of Bennett Environmental or potentially impair the value of the Company.

Second City will propose an alternative slate of directors, each of whom is well known in the business community. In advance of the meeting of shareholders, Second City intends to file a dissident proxy circular containing background information with respect to the Second City director nominees and detailed reasons in support of Second City's position. Phoenix Advisory Partners and Stikeman Elliott LLP have been retained to assist Second City.

This news release does not constitute a solicitation of proxies, and is being issued in accordance with the "early warning" requirements under applicable Canadian securities laws to update the news release and report dated February 23, 2010. Second City and Gibralt Capital Corporation may and reserve the right to acquire or dispose of securities of Bennett Environmental as circumstances warrant.

Second City is a private equity fund managed by Vancouver-based Second City Capital Partners, a multi-fund private equity group. Gibralt Capital Corporation is a financial and strategic partner of Second City Capital Partners.