Latest release from Department of Environment puts Woodstock diesel spill at 189,000 litres
New Brunswick Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Gilles LePage, announced that his government had completed the second phase of inspections of retail fuel outlets across New Brunswick, with poor results.
Of the 91 locations inspected, 47 were found to have breached environmental rules.
“Non-compliances were observed at 47 sites and consisted mainly of unlicensed sites, failure to display owner/operator information, use of hold-open devices, unregistered tanks and improper storage tank labelling,” said Minister LePage in a news release. “These findings prompted enforcement actions by the department, including the issuance of tickets and compliance plans. Additional inspections will continue.”
The inspections were ordered by the province in response to a massive diesel spill at Murray’s Irving on Beardsley Road in Woodstock, discovered in December 2024. The spill temporarily closed Murray’s restaurant, but the Tim Horton’s restaurant on the same property was closed for nearly 10 months.
“As part of our commitment to transparency, I want to ensure New Brunswickers are kept fully informed about the progress at the Irving station on Beardsley Road in Woodstock in the wake of a diesel spill in December 2024,” said LePage in the same news release.
The Department of Environment estimates the total volume of product recovered on Beardsley Road to be 189,000 litres.
“Irving Oil Ltd., the responsible party for the Beardsley Road Irving fuel release, continues to follow the department’s Contaminated Sites Regulation as remediation activities to clean up the spill continue at the site,” said Minister LePage. “Efforts include groundwater monitoring, both on- and off-site, as well as the installation of an extraction system designed to remove diesel from below ground at the site.”
The update went on to say that remediation equipment will remain in operation and will be winterized so that it can operate as needed throughout the winter.
Sampling results continue to show no impacts from the release to off-site potable wells. The province said an additional ecological assessment has been completed, and the results will be available shortly.
“The department, which continues to investigate the circumstances that led to the release, is also ensuring that Irving Oil Ltd. is complying with environmental legislation, including the Petroleum Product Storage and Handling Regulation,” said LePage in the news release.
In the release, the Minister also noted that if any member of the public had any questions, they could reach out to the department at 506-453-7945 or email elg/egl-info@gnb.ca.
