Peguis economic development company sues contractors, province over fuel leak

The Chief Peguis Investment Corporation is suing contractors, engineers and the Province of Manitoba over a fuel leak that closed down a gas bar that, despite remediation efforts to date, remains a potential risk to neighbouring properties, according to court documents.

CPIC is seeking an unspecified amount of damages, a mandatory injunction requiring defendants to remediate any remaining contamination, business interruption losses and "damages for stigma and the diminution of value of the property." 

Workers at the One Stop gas bar noticed a strange odour on March 29, 2022. An inspection the following day revealed raw fuel entering the pits beneath two gasoline pumps.

Fuel sales were shut down and remain closed, and the province's environment department was notified.

"Despite remediation efforts to date, there is a continuing risk that the fuel leak could have adverse impacts on neighbouring properties," according to CPIC's statement of claim filed in Manitoba's Court of King's Bench.

Initial remediation efforts by the plaintiffs have been discontinued due to lack of funds, and the remaining pit caused by excavation of contaminated soil continues to cause safety and security concerns, according to the suit filed at the end of March. 

CPIC, which is an economic development company owned by Peguis First Nation, alleges the defendants caused the petroleum leak and contamination of the property due to negligence in the design, construction, testing and permitting of the gas station. The defendants are:

• M Builds Limited Partnership.
• Tower Engineering Group Limited Partnership.
• Century Petroleum Construction.
• Leak Technologies Solutions Ltd.
• The Government of Manitoba.

The statement of claim says there were several  "serious issues regarding the design and construction" of the gas bar including:

• Piping that was designed below grade when it should have been level grade.
• Electrical cables that were buried in concrete that did not meet applicable building codes.
• The tank monitoring system lacked the ability to cut power "which means there was no way to stop fuel flow under a leak condition."

CPIC alleges the province failed to enforce compliance of the Storage and Handling of Petroleum Products regulation, and failed to take steps to ensure all components of the gas bar were properly installed and tested prior to issuing the permit.

None of these allegations have been proven in court. 

In an email to CBC News, the lawyer for Tower Engineering wrote the company "did not provide the engineering work on the affected fuel systems."

None of the other defendants responded to a request for comment.