The Editor,
Almost all of us in the Greater Vancouver region use YVR and have created the need for more jet fuel. City council and the VAPOR lobby group have opposed the Vancouver Airport Fuel Facilities Corporation (VAFFC) plan to send huge tankers up the south arm of the Fraser River to a new jet fuel storage facility, describing in detail the risks to both the marine environment and nearby residents.
That's only half of what's required. We also need to promote an alternative plan. Otherwise, it comes across as saying it's someone else's problem and you only care the solution doesn't involve your backyard.
VAPOR acknowledges the need for more jet fuel and favours a new pipeline to YVR from the BP Cherry Point Refinery near Blaine, Washington. The city opposes this and favours reducing future demand by conservation measures or increased efficiency through technological advancement, coupled with upgrading the existing pipeline (from Burnaby to YVR).
VAFFC's reply to the city explained conservation and technological improvements have been factored into its fuel need forecasts. It also supplied details of its opposition to both solutions suggested by the city and VAPOR.
The fact is that there is no happy solution that has no serious drawbacks, but both of these solutions are better than VAFFC's preferred option of tankers on the Fraser. The city and VAPOR should take on the important task of publicly explaining why
For example, VAFFC's "critical" objections to an upgrade of the existing pipeline are that getting the required permits will take too much time and the pre-construction and construction capital costs are too high, partly due to the fact that the pipeline passes through residential areas.
However it may be time and money well spent. The most secure possible source of jet fuel for YVR is the Burnaby refinery. It's the only refinery in B.C. and is fortunately close to YVR. The existing pipeline also carries additional jet fuel brought by ship to Burnaby from the BP Cherry Point Refinery.
While no one is keen on shipping jet fuel through residential areas, that will continue to happen with the existing 40year-old pipeline - far better to upgrade it now with all the modern safety features and increased capacity.
This is not an unusual solution. All of the fuel for New York's JFK airport is shipped through a 64-kilometre pipeline from Linden, New Jersey, that passes through the New York boroughs of Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens.
City council meets next Monday, Jan. 23rd at 7 p.m. to discuss the matter. I hope they can come up with an improved resolution that recognizes the problem, engages the Greater Vancouver region and counters the VAFFC position by giving concrete reasons for a more detailed investigation of the Burnaby pipeline upgrade option.
John Roston Richmond
