Citizens are protesting against a $100 million project that would see aviation fuel shipped by tanker up the South Arm of the Fraser River and piped from a marine transfer station to the airport via a 15-kilometre-long pipeline through Richmond.
The venture aims to replace an existing pipeline that proponents say doesn’t have the capacity to deal with current fuel requirements for the airport.
The pipeline faces an uphill battle in the form of opposition from a grassroots organization in Richmond called VAPOR (Vancouver Airport Pipeline Opposition for Richmond), as well as from city council, which is unanimously against the plan.
The BC Environmental Assessment office, which is set to review the proposal, has received more than 350 submissions, most of them opposing the proposal. The opponents say there are alternatives that have not been fully explored.