The Editor,
Residents of Richmond and the city council are still waiting to hear what fate awaits us with respect to the Vancouver Airport Fuel Facility Corporation (VAFFC) proposal.
The proposal would see an 80-million litre jet fuel tank farm in Richmond, and non-stop tanker traffic on the Fraser River, as the tankers deliver fuel to the tank farm.
Jet fuel is highly toxic to marine life and highly explosive.
The inherent dangers in the proposed scheme are obvious. A spill from one of the large tankers they plan to use would be devastating to the sensitive Fraser Estuary. We know that tankers have accidents.
It is not possible to provide 100 per cent protection from spills - the only question is when will they occur.
As well, there is a real danger from explosion at the tank farm as Richmond sits on an earthquake zone. The proposed site of this tank farm is just off Silver City.
The city council has been unanimous in its condemnation of this proposal, and thousands of citizens in the Lower Mainland have protested and signed petitions, but still we are left in the dark.
What is the status of this proposal? Why are the citizens and city council ignored?
The position of VAPOR, the Richmond citizen's group that has organized opposition to this proposal, is that if Vancouver airport does indeed need more fuel, we would back one of the original options from VAFFC - to move the jet fuel entirely by pipeline, thus eliminating the dangers inherent in tanker traffic and a tank farm.
As has been pointed out in previous letters to the editor, this type of pipeline would steer toxic chemical away from our waterways. (Not to be confused with Enbridge, which would result in an increase in tanker traffic on the coast.)
Some politicians have given us strong support: NDP MP Finn Donnely presented our 6000+ petition in the House of Commons in Ottawa earlier this year, and independent MLA Vicki Huntington presented it in Victoria.
We have also received written support from MLA Linda Reid and MP KerryLynne Findlay.
The recent gutting of federal environmental protection legislation has done little to help our case.
We have tried to engage our local Conservative MP Alice Wong and also Liberal MLA John Yap, but they have both been strangely silent on the issue and have refused to take a stand.
I find this unacceptable when the vast majority of Richmond residents and the entire city council are dead set against it. Who do they represent?
This comedy has been going on for close to two years. We would like to see a new proposal that we can get behind - one that does not pose large scale risks to the environment.
Barbara Huisman Member, Board of Directors, VAPOR
