Inuvik (Dec 24/04) - Mechanic Roland Petrin is pleased he beat an Environmental Protection Act (EPA) fine, but says enforcement of the act needs to be more flexible, especially in businesses like his auto repair shop, where chemical spills are part of everyday operations.

"The only (auto) shop that doesn't have leakage of some fluid is a closed shop," he said Friday from his business, Inuvik Auto.

On May 31 of this year, a Resources Wildlife and Economic Development (RWED) officer picking up his departmental vehicle noticed some spilled oil and told Petrin to clean his lot or face a fine.

With the ground still frozen, Petrin asked for a month, but was informed that he had a week to complete the job.

Due to the time of year, Petrin said the required excavating equipment was tied up on other projects. When the officer returned June 8, he slapped the mechanic with a $250 fine for discharging a contaminant into the environment.

"I was prepared to do the cleanup," said Petrin, who estimated the cost of the job at $3,000 plus time spent away from his work organizing the affair and preparing his defence.

"Of course I want a clean lot, but (this situation) could have been avoided if there had been a little more cooperation between both parties.," he continued.

"I didn't get a cheque from the government for fixing (the RWED) truck in seven days. That came 60 days later and all I was asking for was 30 days (to clean the spill)."

Petrin estimates that he goes through between 800 and 1,000 gallons of motor oil annually and that after eight-and-a-half years at his Navy Road location, the amount of oil in question was minor.

Though results from the soil samples taken from the Inuvik Auto lot showed varying levels of contamination, no expert appeared in court to interpret the test results, which worked in Petrin's favour.

"They got the lab results, but couldn't make heads or tails of them," he said.

"So a whole lot of tax dollars were spent trying to punish me for cleaning my property."

RWED regional superintendent Ron Morrison, contacted at his office Monday, said he would not comment on the case.

"And the officers that were involved are off on Christmas holidays," he added.