Irving Oil in talks to buy homes near site of butane leak

Irving Oil is taking steps to buy up a number of east Saint John homes close to a pipeline that leaked butane last month, forcing 84 people to leave the neighbourhood for several days.

River Avenue resident Heather Follett says several homeowners have met over the past few days with Irving Oil representatives to discuss potential sales.

She said the company was reaching out to residents who had expressed interest in selling during the evacuation.

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"On Monday, two ladies from Irving realty division came to the house just to basically say they couldn't promise anything but they would do an assessment to our house," said Follett. "And we had the option of two different appraisal companies and we could choose which one."

Follett spent five nights in a hotel during the emergency with her husband, two daughters, dog and pet lizard.

She's worried her house will have lost market value because of the gas leak and the property's proximity to a collection of pipelines.

Sees tough sell

"I need to be able to pay off my mortgage and have a down payment on a house in order to leave where I'm at because we've only lived there for eight years which just isn't enough time to really have any equity in my house."

Farther along River Avenue, Kelsey Filmore had the same concerns.

Putting the house on the open market would now be a "hard sell," she said. She's pleased Irving Oil is moving as quickly as it is on this file.

"We want to be comfortable in our decision," Filmore said. "I'm curious to see what they will present us with."

Irving Oil did not respond Wednesday to a request for information about the home purchase discussions.

A resident of nearby Pleasant City Street said his family was notified by an Irving Oil staff person this week that the company was not interested in purchasing his home.

Pleasant City was among five east Saint John streets evacuated during the emergency.

River Avenue was the first street to be evacuated after the leak was discovered Jan. 8 in the four-inch pipe that runs from the Irving Saint John East Terminal on Bayside Drive to the Irving Oil refinery. 

Employees making checks in preparation for doing maintenance work reported the leak, although some residents said they'd smelled an odour for several days before that.

Tied up streets

Over a five-day period, Bayside Drive remained closed from the Courtenay Bay Causeway to Red Head Road, causing major headaches for commuters and trucks serving local industries.

Butane is a colourless, highly flammable gas derived from petroleum. 

After the incident Irving Oil commissioned a consultant's report to "assess impacts" and propose a remedial action plan.

The report has been turned over to the Department of Environment but has not been released.

A spokesperson for the department said it would be up to the company to do so.