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INUVIK - An oil spill last week almost went unnoticed until it was reported to authorities by a third party.

According to the spill report by Environment and Natural Resources, an incident involving spilled fuel was not reported by the party responsible.

A loader at Allen Services broke a valve on a tank filled with diesel/kerosene last weekend. Officials estimate that 200-300 gallons of fuel was spilled. The business responsible has been charged and the contaminated soil and snow has been disposed of properly. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

ENR officer Ian Ellsworth said he got a call on Saturday afternoon about a reported oil spill at the Allen Services lot.

Ellsworth said he got the call from a concerned resident who knew of the incident.

"I received the complaint and went to check it out," he said.

When he got to the scene, Ellsworth said he was met by members of the company responsible for the mess, who were trying to burn off the excess oil that covered the snow.

"I put a stop to the burning right away," said Ellsworth.

According to the ENR report Ellsworth filed on the incident, approximately 200-300 gallons of diesel/kerosene fuel spilled out of the tank.

Ellsworth said the spill was caused by a loader that accidentally broke the valve closing the tank.

Once gathered, the contaminated soil was taken to the town's solid waste disposal site.

He said the mess was totally cleaned up by Thursday Oct. 9.

He added charges are pending and the case could go to the courts.

"There are two charges being looked at, one for discharging a contaminant and the other for failure to report the incident," he said.

Fines delivered amount to $288 each.

Ellsworth said the department checked back with the business about the site and it was cleaned up to their standards.

"The file is now closed," he said.

Ellsworth said he hopes that in the future, spills like this will be reported by the party responsible for the mess.

Town of Inuvik director of public services Rick Campbell said the snow was brought to the soil remediation site in the solid waste facility.

According to Campbell, all contaminated soil is brought through the site, where is mixed and cleaned.

The site has been a part of town facilities for the past 14 years.

Campbell said the site is located behind the "free store" at the solid waste site.

Allen Services could not be reached for comment.