Irving Oil Ltd. and Grant Enterprises 1984 Ltd. pleaded guilty to environmental charges following a massive diesel spill in Woodstock. The companies admitted to releasing a contaminant into the environment under the Clean Environment Act. According to CBC News, the Crown recommends a $400,000 fine for the incident.

How the Spill Happened

Workers discovered the spill in December 2024 when a neighbouring Tim Hortons on Beardsley Road reported fuel in its water supply. The restaurant sits right next to Murray’s Irving gas station. In a Woodstock courtroom, officials revealed the spill released between 210,000 and 250,000 litres of diesel over four months. Crown prosecutor Patrick Wilbur stated the leak originated from a faulty elbow fitting connected to a 100,000 litre underground storage tank. Grant Enterprises installed the tank in 2014 using an aluminum fitting instead of the required steel or fiberglass. Wilbur noted that aluminum alloy elbows are never approved for underground petroleum systems.

Cleanup Costs and System Failures

The cleanup effort began after inspectors found the leak spreading along the Trans Canada Highway. Crews have recovered about 195,000 litres of diesel so far. The remediation process has already cost $15 million, and that number will continue to rise. You might wonder how a leak of this size went unnoticed for four months. Wilbur explained that the companies failed to follow their own governance systems. Regulations require operators to measure tank levels and compare them against sales data to spot discrepancies. “While the measurements were taken, the process failed in that it did not detect the ongoing loss that occurred with each delivery,” Wilbur said in court.

What Happens Next

To prevent future incidents, crews installed 42 groundwater monitoring wells and 20 drilled wells at the site. The Crown requested a $400,000 fine, with a portion directed to the provincial environmental trust fund. Both Irving Oil and Grant Enterprises agreed to this amount. Judge Rose Campbell will review the case and deliver her official sentence on Feb. 8, 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did the diesel spill happen?

The spill occurred at Murray’s Irving gas station on Beardsley Road in Woodstock, New Brunswick.

How much diesel leaked into the ground?

Between 210,000 and 250,000 litres of diesel leaked over a period of four months.

What caused the fuel leak?

A faulty aluminum elbow fitting on an underground storage tank caused the leak. Installers should have used steel or fiberglass.

How much is the cleanup costing?

Cleanup and remediation efforts have cost $15 million so far, and expenses continue to grow.

What is the penalty for the spill?

The Crown recommended a $400,000 fine for Irving Oil and Grant Enterprises. The judge will deliver the final sentence in February 2027.