New Brunswick highway fuel spill reached tributary of nearby river, official says

FREDERICTON – Fuel spilled from a tanker truck rollover on a New Brunswick highway contaminated nearby bodies of water before it was contained, a senior government official has confirmed.

Cleanup continues this week after the April 8 rollover on Route 1 spilled some 36,000 litres of fuel, with lanes still closed on a section of the highway located about 30 minutes north of Saint John.

New Brunswick officials say fuel spilled into a tributary of the Hammond River and a nearby wetland. Charbel Awad, deputy environment minister, says crews were able to halt further contamination.

“They’ve got some underflow dams and booms in place so that it’s not propagating any further than it already has,” Awad told The Canadian Press in an interview this week.

He said crews are using vacuum trucks to suck up fuel from the water, while removing contaminated soil and replacing it with fresh dirt.

The Hammond River runs west through southern Kings County before meeting with New Brunswick’s Kennebecasis River, inland of the Bay of Fundy. The Hammond River watershed is considered a vital breeding ground for Atlantic salmon, according to the Hammond River Angling Association.

The provincial Environment Department has also reached out to 10 nearby homeowners to get their wells tested for contamination and to help remediate any potential impacts, officials said.

Nova Scotia-based Seaboard Liquid Carriers Ltd. was identified by New Brunswick as the responsible party and, as is standard policy, will foot the cleanup bill. The firm’s parent company Seaboard Transportation did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week. 

Awad said the company has hired Pario Engineering and Environmental Sciences, which is certified to do the required restorative work where the spill occurred. 

“The department provides them with guidance and standards in regards to the remediation practices that they are to do for the site to bring it back to the state it was before,” the deputy minister said.

The incident last week, which took place near Nauwigewauk, N.B., initially closed part of the four-lane highway between Hampton and Quispamsis. Westbound lanes were partially reopened Friday afternoon. One eastbound lane reopened late Wednesday.

Awad said Monday he anticipates the highway to reopen in a matter of days not weeks, but said he couldn’t provide a specific timeline.

Environment Minister Gilles LePage says the province is doing all it can to protect the local environment. 

“The cleanup and the remediation is still on schedule, still ongoing. Everything’s being done safely and promptly and very meticulously,” he said in a Tuesday interview.

The province also confirmed it had notified officials at Fisheries and Oceans Canada and other federal departments about the spill.

The federal Fisheries Act prohibits activity that can cause harm to the habitat of fish and it gives the Canadian government jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute infractions.

A spokesperson for the federal Fisheries Department referred questions from The Canadian Press to Environment and Climate Change Canada, which did not immediately respond.

Video posted online appears to show the two-trailer truck hit another vehicle before rolling over sideways on the highway. 

Hampton Fire Rescue said in a post on social media that it was dispatched at about 4 p.m. to an accident involving a fuel tanker that had rolled over and was leaking. 

The driver, who was trapped inside the cab of the truck, was extracted by crews and transferred into the care of New Brunswick’s ambulance service, according to the fire service. 

“Due to the complexity of the incident and the presence of leaking fuel, crews remained on scene for approximately 12 hours working to stabilize the situation and ensure the safety of the public and environment,” the fire service added.

The New Brunswick RCMP referred questions about the truck driver’s condition to the provincial government, which did not have an update on Wednesday. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2026.