B.C. court approves class-action against province over 2013 fuel spill
VANCOUVER — A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has approved a class-action lawsuit against the provincial government over a fuel spill that forced the evacuation of thousand of residents in the Slocan Valley four years ago.
The law firm representing 2,500 residents says it’s the first such environmental lawsuit certified by the court against the province of B.C.
The firm, Rosenberg Kosakoski Litigation, says in a statement the tanker truck that overturned, spilling 35,000 litres of jet fuel into the Slocan River water system was part of a province-led refuelling operation for firefighting helicopters.
The action alleges the province caused the disaster because of operational mismanagement and then failed to adequately respond to the spill, which resulted millions of dollars in damages to private property and the ecosystem.