Oil leak clean-up will cost Nunavut woman $55,000: judgment

A leaky oil tank at the Apex home of Rannva Simonsen in 2011 means she will pay $55,000 in restitution to the Government of Nunavut for the clean-up operation. (PHOTO BY PETER VARGA)

A problem common in Nunavut buildings — a leaky fuel tank — has resulted in a $55,000 bill for a homeowner in Apex.

Rannva Simonsen, a long-time Apex resident and owner of the well-known fur fashion design company Rannva Design, pleaded guilty at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit April 12 to discharging a contaminant — home fuel — into the environment, even though she wasn’t aware of the leak at the time.

Simonsen’s defence lawyer, Michael Chandler, and Crown prosecutor Myriam Girard made a joint submission to Nunavut Justice Nancy Mossip April 12, agreeing to a statement of facts.

In addition to a $500 fine to be paid in 30 days, Mossip ordered Simonsen to pay $55,000 to partially cover the $197,000 paid by the Government of Nunavut to clean up the spill.

Girard told Mossip that due to the wear and tear on fuel tanks during harsh Arctic winters, this could have happened to anyone.

“There’s a need for everybody in Iqaluit to know that it could happen to you. There’s a need for the community to be aware that, unless you exercise due diligence, you might find yourself discharging a contaminant into the community,” Girard said in an Iqaluit courtroom.

Girard told Nunatsiaq News that due diligence includes regularly checking your tank for signs of leaks, such as small eroded holes, and making sure your home insurance covers the cost of a potential leak.

In January 2011 Simonsen found out her home fuel tank had leaked about 600 litres outside of her Apex home.

After receiving Mossip’s sentence, Simonsen told Nunatsiaq News that she was surprised to find out her insurance would not cover the fuel leak.

“I know some people this has happened to who’ve just left their house, left town even, rather than pay,” Simonsen said.

“I’m very relieved that this is sorted [out]…it’s been very stressful.”

The GN undertook the clean-up between May and July of 2011, Girard said.

Simonsen was then charged in October 2012 with releasing a contaminant under the Environmental Protection Act.

The clean-up involved the use of large heavy machinery to excavate ditches between Simonsen’s house and the nearby creek.

To show how expensive and common these sorts of leaks are, Girard submitted to Mossip a table showing information for 14 similar leaks that happened in Iqaluit between 1999 and 2012.

The average cost of those clean-ups, Girard said, was $61,000.

In arriving at Simonsen’s $55,000 restitution cost, Mossip said she considered Simonsen’s income as well as the need for a “general deterrence.”

That means the cost aims to deter other people from finding themselves in the same situation. Mossip did not impose a specific deterrence cost — which is used to deter an individual from repeating the same offence.

“Obviously there’s no need for specific deterrence in this case whatsoever,” Girard argued and Mossip agreed.

“I think this lady is going to remember this event as one of the horrible events of her life, as anybody else would,” Girard said in court.

In 2011, the GN issued a guide to maintaining home fuel tanks, which can be seen here.

“The bottom line is that the law says it’s your job to make sure your tank is not leaking,” Girard said in an interview.