Fuel spill at Old Crow airport costs Air North $180K

Air North has avoided charges under the Fisheries Act for a fuel spill three years ago at the Old Crow airport, by accepting responsibility and agreeing to a number of conditions.

The Whitehorse-based airline admits that an estimated 1,100 litres of diesel fuel was spilled in the fall of 2014. It happened when a storage tank at the airport overflowed, as Air North crews were re-filling it.

The company took responsibility for the accident and agreed to clean it up. So far, the airline has paid about $100,000 to have crews from the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation do the work.

According to documents filed in Yukon Territorial Court, there is no evidence that any of the fuel made its way into the nearby Porcupine River.

An "alternative measures agreement", reached between prosecutors and lawyers for the airline, means the airline won't actually face charges in court.

In return, Air North must pay another $80,000 — some to cover the cost of shipping contaminated materials out of Old Crow (up to $40,000), and the rest to go towards an "environmental damages fund".

The airline must also write about the incident and the cleanup in one of its "President's Message" articles in the in-flight magazine, North of Ordinary.

Air North also agreed to submit another article to the magazine, "the focus of which shall be the positive aspect and benefit of environmental protection, regulation and remediation, or such topic as agreed upon by Air North and Environment and Climate Change Canada," the agreement says.

The federal agency will also review and approve the articles before they're published.