N.B. environment minister says diesel leak at Woodstock station now in hands of justice department

The file on a diesel spill leak in 2024 is now with the New Brunswick Justice Department.

New Brunswick’s environment minister says Irving Oil has done ‘everything’ his department has asked in the investigation and clean-up of 189,000 litres of diesel fuel found in December 2024.

The spill was at the Beardsley Road Irving Station in Woodstock, N.B., and was caused by a crack in a remote fill elbow, according to the province and Irving Oil.

“I can tell you that everything that we’ve asked the proponent has been done. So they’ve respected our rules and regulations that are in place,” said Gilles LePage on Friday.

While he didn’t confirm if that meant the clean-up was complete, he did indicate the file is out of his hands.

“The file is now with Justice, and we will see if there is any legal actions,” he said.

CTV News contacted the Department of Justice and is waiting for a response.

The department pledged last year to inspect every gas retailer in the province.

The minister said Friday that work is ongoing.

“I can tell you that it is a constant. It’s a daily job for our inspectors,” he said. “So, yes, there are you have the boots on the ground. They’re working on it. And, we haven’t had any major issues, come up. and that came up to my knowledge.”

Those inspectors completed two phases of inspections in 2025.

The first phase resulted in 14 violations from 30 inspections. The second phase consisted of 91 inspections and resulted in 47 violations.

Those included “unlicensed sites, failure to display owner/operator information, use of hold-open devices, unregistered tanks and improper storage tank labelling.”

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