SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A man charged with spilling fuel into a water body that drains into Great Slave Lake will have to wait another nine weeks to find out whether he will have to pay more than $120,000, the cost of the clean-up.

Garry Johnson returns to the Yellowknife courthouse during a recess of his sentencing hearing on Friday. - Taylor Lambert/NNSL photo

Garry Johnson has pleaded guilty to one charge under the NWT Waters Act. The Crown dropped eight other similar charges in exchange for the guilty plea.

Johnson's sentencing hearing, which began Thursday and carried over into Friday, was adjourned until Oct.15 as his lawyer Sheldon Toner and Crown prosecutor Andrew Fox could not resolve the main outstanding issue - the amount Johnson should pay to cover the costs of the spill clean-up.

Territorial court judge Garth Malakoe adjourned the case while both sides make written submissions.

"I don't feel guilty of nothing," Johnson told Yellowknifer during a court recess.

He had been "squatting" in a cabin - located on a piece of Crown land for which he did not have a lease - around kilometre 35 of the Ingraham Trail. On April 15, 2009, an unknown amount of fuel leaked from a 250 gallon fuel tank on the property, which was located uphill from a small lake that ties into Great Slave Lake via the Cameron River. The spring runoff exacerbated the flow of hydrocarbons toward the small lake. After being ordered by an Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) inspector to clean up the site, Johnson initially followed the orders before covering over the land with soil a few days later.

He later cited financial strain as his motive for halting the clean-up, as well as his belief that colder weather had stopped the flow of the fuel.

Contractors, hired at the government's expense, excavated 229,000 kilograms of soil from the site. The site was then backfilled with clean soil.

A garage that Johnson constructed was also destroyed in order to remove asphalt beneath it, which had mixed with the fuel and released further hydrocarbons.

The government is seeking restitution from Johnson for more than $120,000 to cover the cost of the clean-up. Toner argued in court that similar cases took into account the defendant's ability to pay when recouping costs. The defence also claimed that the government's clean-up effort was excessive.

"(Johnson) was the one who caused the fuel spill," said Fox after the session. "One should be held responsible for the damage one does."

Fox called two witnesses on Thursday: environmental engineer Henry Wong and INAC resource manager Jennifer Potten. They both testified the hydrocarbons on site posed an immediate threat to the environment, particularly with the spring thaw.

But Johnson, a truck driver who has often hauled fuel, was dismissive of Potten.

"She's fresh out of school, this is her first job," he said during a recess. "I've got a lifetime experience of dealing with fuel ... But she's the educated expert."

Potten has been a resource manager since February 2008, and has experience with other environmental clean-up campaigns.

Johnson added that he has been unable to work much for the past year due to his court case, which has required him to appear in court five times.

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