Irving, Grant Enterprises (1984) Ltd. plead guilty to charges after massive fuel leak in Woodstock
$400,000 fine requested by the Crown
Two companies charged with violating environmental laws after a massive fuel leak at a local gas station pleaded guilty in Woodstock Provincial Court on Nov. 10.
Irving Oil Limited and Grant Enterprises (1984) Ltd. were charged with failing to comply with the Clean Environment Act after not reporting a petroleum leak immediately and releasing a contaminant into the environment between Aug. 1, 2024, and Dec. 13, 2024, at Murray’s Irving on Beardsley Road.
The two companies pleaded guilty before Judge Rose Campbell, who reserved her sentence decision until Feb. 8, 2027, at 1:30 p.m.
Crown Prosecutor Patrick Wilbur recommended a $400,000 fine. Defence Counsel Matthew Hayes, K.C., accepted the Crown’s suggestion. The other charge of failing to report the leak was withdrawn.
Wilbur told the court that $10,000 to $20,000 should be paid as a fine, and the rest paid into the province’s Environmental Trust Fund. The Crown noted the companies involved had acted as “responsible corporate citizens” and spent $15 million on the cleanup. At the same time, monitoring and risk management procedures will remain in place for years to come and at additional cost.
The diesel spill was accidental, Wilbur said, and was first discovered in December 2024 after a petroleum smell was reported at the nearby Tim Hortons. The discovery led to an investigation and traced the leak to an underground fuel storage system and a faulty elbow in the piping connected to a 100,000-litre diesel tank installed in 2014 at Murray’s.
“Aluminum alloy elbows were never approved or permitted, and aluminum should not have been part of an underground petroleum system,” said Wilbur. “The aluminum elbow failed, allowing diesel to escape with each truck that delivered diesel to the remote fill line. It was underground and did not allow for visual inspection.”
In court, it was noted that more than 200,000 litres of diesel fuel were released into the environment, and 193,000 litres were recovered during an extensive remediation process. Environmental inspectors found contamination in roadside ditches and other areas beyond the gas station property.
Wilbur said the leak went undetected for months because of poor inventory management. Electronic reconciliation procedures between delivery and sales were not being “diligently checked.”
“The various parties involved in the required reconciliations appear to have assumed that the other was performing the reconciliation,” he said.
Wilbur admitted the environmental disaster may well be the largest spill ever to occur in New Brunswick and suggested a significant penalty was warranted.
Tim Hortons and Murray’s Restaurant were both shut down during the investigation, and both businesses stopped using drinking water from their respective wells, resulting in an alternative potable water supply being installed at both premises.
“Irving Oil responded immediately to the release and has maintained an ongoing extensive and active remedial program directed at investigation, containment, recovery, treatment, monitoring and long-term environmental management,” Wilbur explained. “Irving Oil and Grant Enterprises have cooperated and have covered the full cost of all environmental rehabilitation and ongoing monitoring.”
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Judy Cole, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, River Valley Sun.