Island family hit with $345,000 bill from P.E.I. government after oil spill

An Island couple has been handed a $345,915 environmental cleanup bill from the P.E.I. government, more than a year after a full tank of home heating oil leaked into their clay basement and seeped into the soil on their property. 

Betty and Kenny Waite, both in their late 60s, say they're unable to pay the huge bill. So government has placed a lien on their home in Sherbrooke, just outside Summerside. 

It means if the Waites sold their home, the proceeds would potentially go to the province.  

"Just devastated," said Betty Waite. "I don't know what we're going to do. I guess we'll die in this house, because we won't be able to afford to sell it. Hopefully we'll be healthy enough to stay here.

"But it's a big house for two people. I'd love to downsize, but that's not going to happen now."

The Waites discovered the leak in September 2023, the morning after their 1,100-litre tank was filled. They believe a hole had developed in the oil filter leading into the tank, which caused the entire tank to empty before it was caught. 

"The first thought is the environment. You have to clean that up," said their son, Todd Waite, who has helped his parents in the aftermath of the spill.  

"And they have a well on the property. So we want to make sure we're not drinking dirty water. And, you know, we have kids and grand kids around here. So... it was a big concern."

The Waites reached out to their home insurance provider, assuming they'd be covered for the cost of the cleanup. But their provider informed them they had no coverage. 

"I figured it would be mandatory to have insurance for something like this," said Todd Waite. "Why else would you have insurance other than for something you couldn't afford to clean up on your own?"

As required by law, the Waites reported the spill to P.E.I.'s environment department. Officials with the department informed them they were required to hire a consultant and arrange for the oil to be cleaned up. 

Without any insurance coverage, the Waites told the department they couldn't afford to do that. In February, the province issued the Waites an environmental protection order. After they failed to comply, the department took over and hired its own consultant. 

"Once they said 'we're not able to do it, or can't do it, or won't do it,' then we had to step in and take over the process," said Greg Wilson, director of the department's regulatory services division. 

"It's one thing for you to have an oil spill on your property. But it really gets complicated if there are others in the area and this oil spill is going to affect them... We didn't want that oil contamination to go onto a third-party premises."