Irving Oil unaware of leaking diesel until after major spill detected, emails suggest

Government emails obtained done a close to accusation petition suggest Irving Oil Ltd. was not alert of discrepancies successful substance numbers until aft a spill was detected astatine its Woodstock state station. 

In a Jan. 7 email, Mallory Gilliss, a manager of contaminated sites with the Department of Environment and Local Government, updated colleagues pursuing a "high level update" gathering with Irving and the contractor the institution hired to negociate the spill, Dillon Consulting Limited. 

"Irving's Operations Group is investigating the origin of the leak. There was a ace successful the distant capable elbow and they are evaluating the origin of the crack. They person already identified immoderate discrepancies successful merchandise inventory successful the week starring up to the incidental and they volition proceed to analyse if this was a process oregon bundle failure," Gilliss wrote. 

"They volition beryllium looking astatine different Irving sites to spot if they person the aforesaid vulnerability." 

What that vulnerability was — that led to thousands of litres of diesel leaking into the situation without being detected instantly — is unclear.

Interview requests were besides sent to Irving Oil Ltd. via email and telephone calls. The institution did not respond to the requests. In fact, Irving Oil has ne'er responded to CBC requests regarding this diesel leak dating backmost to its discovery.

WATCH | Minister says the study connected the 180,000-litre leak volition beryllium made public: 

In the days pursuing the archetypal find of the diesel leak successful mid-December of 2024, respective section residents told CBC News they had already reported diesel successful the h2o proviso astatine the neighbouring Tim Hortons — successful immoderate cases several weeks anterior to immoderate action being taken. 

The magnitude of diesel recovered from the spill has precocious been accrued to 180,000 litres. 

Highway officials caught disconnected guard 

Those aforesaid documents besides amusement a bid of confused emails from a assortment of organizations, including authorities agencies, who were successful the acheronian astir the leak and its imaginable impacts. 

Staff astatine the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure were amazed astatine the grade of the cleanup operations. It appears efforts to seizure the leaked diesel encroached onto the Trans-Canada Highway — and impeded traffic — without officials knowing oregon approving those operations.  

"The clean-up astatine [Beardsley] Road has extended connected to NBHC [New Brunswick Highway Corporation] property. We person not been notified by anybody," wrote Kyle Wright, an operation, maintenance and rehabilitation manager for DTI, to a workfellow connected Feb. 12.  

An email to Wright from Craig Gallant of AtkinsRéalis, previously called SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., the institution that manages that agelong of road nether declaration by the province, replied that they excessively had nary idea about the encroaching operations. 

"It seems similar the contractor for the cleanable up astatine the Irving astatine [Beardsley] Road is present excavating wrong the Highway ROW [right of way]," Gallant wrote. "Are you aware? We person not been advised of immoderate plans successful this regard. Any accusation the state has for this cleanable up would beryllium appreciated."

Groups successful the dark

Following a CBC News story about the archetypal estimation of astatine slightest 100,000 litres of leaked diesel, respective organizations began contacting the state for details astir the spill.  

Those emails were included successful the close to accusation request. Some came from an enforcement serviceman from Environment and Climate Change Canada, arsenic good arsenic the Wolastoqey Nation successful New Brunswick. Both requested information astir the leak and its imaginable interaction connected food habitats. 

The section besides received calls from adjacent spot owners disquieted astir their onshore and h2o being contaminated.  

The time aft the archetypal CBC News report, the Town of Woodstock besides requested much accusation astir the spill straight from Environment Minister Gilles LePage and deputy curate Charbel Awad aft expressing vexation with a deficiency of updates from Irving Oil.  

"I spot that Irving is pursuing each requirements from the Department of Environment successful their remediation work, and we recognize an biology appraisal is being done, but fixed the media reports of substance recovered successful aboveground h2o successful wetlands a just region away, I deliberation it is clip that I amended recognize the imaginable gravity of the situation," wrote Mayor Trina Jones.  

"As you tin appreciate, the media volition proceed to scope retired to myself and my Council to look for much accusation and though I proceed to divert their questions, arsenic caller arsenic yesterday, our assemblage members volition expect america to person much accusation than the press," Jones wrote. 

Investigation continues

On May 5, the Environment Department issued a quality release stating that an probe launched into state presumption information compliance — a nonstop effect of the leak successful Woodstock — revealed issues astatine astir fractional of the inspected locations.  

"The section has completed 30 inspections astir New Brunswick since launching the workout successful April," stated the release. "Non-compliances were observed astatine 14 sites. These findings prompted enforcement actions by the department, including issuance of tickets and compliance plans."

The state has since updated those numbers from 14 sites to 15 sites. 

Minister responds

According to LePage, tickets for "minor infractions" astatine those 15 state stations full astir $6,000. He said stations were selected crossed antithetic regions astatine random and included some Irving and non-Irving stations.

In an email, section spokesperson Kelly Cormier clarified what those infractions were.

"The bulk of the non-compliance issues were administrative successful nature, specified arsenic nonaccomplishment to get an yearly license, vessel labelling, etc," Cormier wrote. "Of the 30 work stations inspected, 7 were issued tickets for operating a retention vessel strategy without a valid licence."

"These issues would not airs a important hazard to the situation and should not beryllium viewed successful the aforesaid discourse arsenic the Woodstock incident."

LePage said helium can't say what led to the Woodstock leak or why it wasn't immediately detected.

"The probe is inactive going on, ours and also Irving's investigation," said LePage. "We'll harvester some and we'll find recommendations, solutions, and much actions probably, aft we get those reports."

LePage said he's not definite erstwhile they'll beryllium completed, but "hopefully wrong the adjacent month." He said they'll beryllium made public.

"Everything that I tin marque public, yes, I volition marque public," LePage said. 

When asked wherefore the Department of Environment did not instantly pass the nationalist astir the leak, LePage said its detection connected Dec. 15 was adjacent to Christmas break, and the precedence astatine the clip was collecting the leaked substance and enforcing section rules governing cleanup.

"We're answering each national that requests an answer. Our unit is determination to reply questions, the advisor unit is determination to reply questions, and of course the institution is besides there, and besides liable to reply those questions," LePage said.