January 15, 1998
(Environment and Labour)

Charges laid against Airconsol Aviation Services Ltd.

The Minister of Environment and Labour Oliver Langdon announced today that charges have been laid against Airconsol Aviation Services Limited, three of their management employees and an employee of Acres International in relation to an oil spill which occurred at the Deer Lake Airport on or about January 13, 1997. The charges stem from violations of the Environment Act and the Storage of Gasoline and Associated Products.

The incident occurred when an Airconsol tank truck pulled away from their tank farm without disconnecting the refueling line, resulting in a spill of over 9,000 litres of fuel. It is alleged that employees of Airconsol failed to report the spill and gave false statements to investigating officials from Environment Canada and the Department of Government Services and Lands as to the facts surrounding the incident.

In all, 37 charges have been laid including failure to report a spill, making false statements, obstruction of an employee, causing pollution and failure to stop pollution. Sixteen charges have been laid against the company and 21 charges against the individuals involved. If found guilty, the company may be fined a maximum of $25,000 for each count and individuals may be fined a maximum of $1,000 for each count.

Minister Langdon stated that by failing to report the spill and attempting to mislead government officials, company officials permitted a serious threat to the environment and a substantial risk to public safety.

Contact: Sean Kelly, Communications, Environment and Labour, (709) 729-2575.

1998 01 15                   11:25 a.m.