A citizens' group hoping to stop a plan to construct a jet fuel tank farm on the banks of Fraser River will have to wait a couple of months to continue its day in court.
Members of Vancouver Airport Project Opposition for Richmond (VAPOR) were in B.C. Supreme Court last Wednesday to present their case against the granting of an environmental certificate for the project. They cite a lack of adequate public consultation.
Following a presentation by VAPOR's Otto Langer, the proceeding was adjourned until Feb. 10, 2015, at which time three days have been set aside.
Owned by a consortium of airlines that use YVR, the Vancouver Airport Fuel Facilities Corporation wants to ship jet fuel up the river to a tank farm that would be built on an industrial site on the Richmond side on the south arm of the Fraser.
An underground pipeline would then send the fuel to the airport.
In December 2013, the province announced that a conditional environmental assessment certificate would be issued. The decision was made after a review led by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, one of several parties named in the VAPOR lawsuit.
"VAPOR has taken this legal action to represent the wishes of over 85 per cent of the citizens who opposed this project as determined in four different polls and the rejection of the project in unanimous votes by Delta and Richmond city councils," a VAPOR news release states. "It is truly unfortunate that here in B.C. we now have environmental review process that is minimalist in approach and considerably less than acceptable to protect the overall public trust."
Langer said they received recent letters of support from the City of Richmond, Council of Canadians and David Suzuki Foundation as well as a $2,500 grant from Richmond to help with legal costs for the judicial review.
Several dozen conditions were attached with the project's approval, including deployment of a protective boom across Ladner Reach during offloading of fuel at the marine terminal, so the area is protected in the event of a spill, and that a spill response vessel to be on standby in Ladner Reach or nearby the terminal during the offloading process. According to the proponent, the project's benefits include removing 1,000 tanker trucks per month from B.C.'s roads.
While removing those trucks from the road is seen as a benefit for Delta, the municipality has conveyed a number of concerns, including requesting the EAO ensure a provincial spill preparedness and response review be completed and implemented.
