City of Regina and Co-op refinery settle lawsuit over oil spill

The City of Regina has settled its lawsuit against Consumers’ Co-operative Refineries Limited (CCRL) in the wake of an oil spill in May 2020.

The city said in a statement that it reached a “satisfactory” settlement in the case for both parties. The refinery paid the city $4,650,000 for expenses from the spill.

It then declined to provide any more details, saying they’re “confidential and cannot be disclosed.”

The spill happened on May 22, 2020 and was discovered at the wastewater collection system at the McCarthy Boulevard pumping station.

“It was immediately evident to the City that an extraordinary and severe contamination event was occurring and that this contamination event was unlike any prior incident involving the improper release of wastewater into the Public Sewage Works,” read the statement of claim in the lawsuit filed last May.

The suit claimed the wastewater had clogged equipment at the pumping station and then continued downstream; some got into the plant and ended up in Wascana Creek.

The city tested the wastewater, according to the statement of claim, and found oil and grease in excess of 600 milligrams per litre, which is far above the agreement which said such levels couldn’t exceed 15 milligrams per litre.

Originally, CCRL said the spill was caused by strong winds stirring up ponds on the site. Later, the company was quoted by the city as explaining that there was residual oil in the refinery’s holding pond, the ponds had lower levels of wastewater, and a diesel pump malfunctioned.