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Burnaby cleanup company proposing new oil spill station

A Burnaby-based oil spill response company is planning a new base in Vancouver in case the federal government approves the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.

A Burnaby-based oil spill response company is planning a new base in Vancouver in case the federal government approves the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.

Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, formerly known as Burrard Clean, wants to build a new water base in East Vancouver, close to New Brighton Park.

“We just announced we have a location for the base if the project goes ahead,” said Michael Lowry, spokesperson for WCMRC. 

The new base would cut down response time but will only go ahead if Kinder Morgan’s new line is built, and the federal government will announce that in December.

When asked why WCMRC would move ahead with a new base, given the pipeline expansion is still under review, Lowry said they need to be prepared.

“We want to get to the point that if it does go ahead, we’re ready to go ahead right away,” Lowry said. “We have a very narrow window to get all this stuff done.”

WCMRC is funded by oil companies and other shippers and is responsible for cleaning up spills on the entire West Coast of B.C. The corporation is based in Burnaby, at the old Shell refinery site on the Burrard Inlet. The new Vancouver base would be in addition to the Burnaby one, not a replacement.

“We’re still obviously going to have a presence here. We’re just getting that on-water hold we haven’t had that we’ve been looking for,” Lowry said.

WCMRC’s average spill response time for Lower Mainland oil spills is one hour. Lowry said crews will be mobilized and on the boats in 10 to 15 minutes and that the Vancouver base will be staffed 24/7.

If the Kinder Morgan pipeline is approved, WCMRC will start construction on the new base in early 2017 and it should be operating by 2018.

The new Vancouver base is part of a larger $200 million plan to beef up oil spill response capacity, which should cut response times in half on B.C.’s South Coast.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority must first approve the base, which is why WCMRC made the announcement, as the information would have been made public through the consultation process.

WCMRC is funded by more than 2,200 members who must pay fees to ship in West Coast waters. The funding comes from the oil handling facilities on the Burrard Inlet (Shell, Suncor, Chevron, Imperial Oil and Kinder Morgan) and other shippers. The oil handling facilities make up roughly 70 per cent of the corporation's funding, while the other shippers represent 30 per cent.

 

What’s include in the $200 million plan?

Source: Western Canada Marine Response Corporation

  • Five new response bases, with approximately 115 new employees and approximately 26 new vessels at strategic locations along B.C.’s southern shipping lane.
  • 24/7 operations at three of the new bases, including the proposed base in Vancouver Harbour. WCMRC is on call 24/7, but does not have crews operating 24/7.
  • The new Vancouver base, at 2800 Commissioner St., would include new docks, an office for response crews, two large barges, rapid response vessels, mobile skimmers, workboats and mini-barges.