Government of Nunavut asked to pay $100K for 2020 fuel spill

Key takeaways: 

• Over 18,000 liters of diesel slopped into Hudson Bay in 2020.
• The Government of Nunavut has been asked to pay $100,000 for a 2020 fuel spill from an overflow at the school’s mechanical space’s tank.

A fuel spill of 18,400 liters into the Hudson Bay in 2020 has directed to a $100,000 charge for the Government of Nunavut. 

After being probed by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in April 2020, the regional government claimed guilty to one charge under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. 

A news release Monday shows that ECCC enforcement officers learned through their reporting website of a fuel spill in the mechanical space of Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik High School in Rankin Inlet. A probe discovered that fuel overflowed from the mechanical room’s tank on April 16 and into the morning of April 17. 

The spill, they stated, is a consequence of human mistakes in the manual transfer of fuel from a storage tank system.

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The Nunavut court asked the territorial government to pay the penalty on April 14. The $100,000 will be directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund to fund projects that fix the environment and conserve wildlife and habitats. 

In addition to the penalty, the Government of Nunavut must report to ECCC the mitigating actions to stop future spills and consider all government buildings with a federally controlled storage tank. 

The territorial government is also needed to reveal the events of the spill to citizens of Rankin Inlet and ensure anyone impacted is aware of possible environmental effects and how future falls are being prevented. 

Neither Environment Canada nor the Nunavut government replied to requests for interviews by the deadline.

Source – cbc.ca