Westline Bus Company and DOE Settle Oil Spill Damages Outside of Court

The Department of the Environment (DOE) is concluding an extensive investigation into a case of an oil spill into the Mopan River last October. The spill was caused by Westline Bus Company Limited’s oil container, which resulted in significant contamination of the river. However, the company did not report this spill to the DOE. The toxic substance spilt into a nearby drain, which ultimately discharged into the freshwater. Although the department’s team was able to contain the situation, they were unable to determine how much had already spilled. According to Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai, the DOE was able to hold discussions with the owner of the company and they were able to settle the matter outside of court. 

Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer, Department of the Environment: “We’ve met with the owner of WestLine and we’ve settled that matter already. The environmental regulations act has a provision where matters could be settled administratively out of court and so the owner of that company decided to settle out of court and we’ve made an agreement and it has been settled.”