« A shock when we find out where this leak came up »

« We were so pleased with how many safety elements were present at the gas station when it was installed at the time. That is why it was a huge shock when we found out where this leak came up, » says Hörður Þorsteinsson, Director of Health Authority of Hafnarfjordur, Garðabær

He dropped the words in a witness in the main proceedings in Costco’s lawsuit against oil distribution that ended today. The compensation application is associated with oil spills that were discovered in late 2023.

Then about 123,000 liters of oil into the environment in about six weeks after the oil bark gave itself into the station’s tank. Oil did not go into groundwater, but it went into a sewer system and into the sea.

Costco received a 20 million krónur administrative fine from the Environment Agency for the leak.

Disconnected switches so you could pump

Responsibility is due to its roots in August in 2023. Costco then requested the team of an Oil Distribution employee due to the fact that gasoline pumps did not work at Costco gas station in Kauptún.

An employee of the oil distribution saw an error in the system and disconnected the switch so that the pumps of the gas stations could be installed again. This switch is said to have played a key role so that Costco’s computer system did not detect leaks after it was disconnected.

Despite the disconnection, Costco’s system should have received errors from another switch, which is also built into the system, according to the Oil Distribution Security Manager, which was witnessed in the case.

Claim 70 million krónur

This employee’s decision bases about ISK 70 million Costco compensation. The amount is due to a 20 million krónur administrative fine that the Environment Agency imposed on Costco plus about ISK 50 million, which Costco considered to have suffered in sailed oil.

Oil distribution, however, points out that in this case there were two other systems that should have intervened. Costco in the United Kingdom should have seen in its systems that inventory status was not the same as sales figures stated, and other switches should have indicated that something was wrong.

Are still serving Costco

There was no written agreement on oil distribution maintenance, but the company was regularly called for maintenance. The Oil Distribution lawyer, Bergur Hauksson, repeatedly stated it in court and he thus wanted to emphasize that the company’s responsibility was limited as there was no service contract.

Three witnesses appeared in court. Regional Director from Costco, Security Manager of Oil Distribution and Hörður Þorsteinsson, Managing Director of the Health Authority.

Oil distribution is still taking care of maintenance and other incidental on the pumps of Costco in Kauptún.