The recent oil spill in English Bay could be a sign of things to come for Burnaby, according to city councillors.
Mayor and council directed staff to compile a report on the oil spill and how a similar scenario would play out in Burnaby.
Council was particularly concerned because of the planned twinning of the Kinder Morgan pipeline and increased tanker traffic.
“It makes us aware of the issue that we’re facing with Kinder Morgan because with Kinder Morgan, as soon as it goes through the pipe onto the ship, they’re no longer responsible,” Coun. Paul McDonell said at Monday’s council meeting. “And that ship that had the oil leak was a brand new ship.”
He also spoke about the spill response time.
Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, the company that handles oil spills along B.C.’s West Coast, was managing the spill around the Marathassa roughly six hours after being called to come in. The City of Vancouver was informed of the spill 12 hours after it happened.
“If it took that many hours to notify the city or any of the affected people, I can only imagine, on a foggy day if we had a collision or something, who is going to be able to report?” he said.
While the spill itself was a relatively small one, the response time was a definite problem, Coun. Nick Volkow said.
“Twenty-seven hundred litres is nothing,” he said of the scale of the spill. “But the issue is not the size, but the response to it. That was a pathetic response.”
He also questioned the makeup of the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, and asked that staff get more information about the company.
Response times could be an issue for Burnaby in the future, Coun. Pietro Calendino said.
“If they operate like this when Kinder Morgan pipeline, and the 400 tankers a year, come through our waters here, and they’re not coordinated,” Coun. Pietro Calendino said, “and if there is an accident – and I said if but I should say when, because with that much traffic its not a question of if it’s a question of when – who’s going to be in charge of how quickly they respond?”
Coun. Colleen Jordan asked that staff focus on what’s in place for Burnaby and what needs to be in place.
An oil spill in Vancouver’s waters also affects the cities around it, Mayor Derek Corrigan pointed out.
“Whether it’s in our jurisdiction or not, our city like other cities surrounds this inlet,” he said. “And the impact on us can be massive if our beaches are soiled.”
Based on Transport Canada’s overhead flights, an estimated 2,700 litres (roughly 17 barrels) of oil leaked into English Bay on April 8, and the response company said it recovered roughly four-fifths of that. Transport Canada officials are investigating the cause of the leak. It’s not clear how much oil leaked, so there’s no way to corroborate the federal department’s estimates on the spill’s volume.
