Is there room for an oil shipping terminal at Roberts Bank with a second container port planned?

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Artist’s rendering of proposed expansion of the Roberts Bank Superport in Delta. It would involve a new container terminal on a second artificial island (foreground). In the background is the existing artificial island that houses the DeltaPort container terminal and a coal-loading terminal. Photo by Port of Vancouver

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Trans Mountain, the federally owned pipeline company that is taking a major stake in the new pipeline, also referred questions to the Alberta government.

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Kathryn Harrison, a professor of political science at the University of B.C. who researches environmental and energy policy, said it is shocking that these questions are not readily answerable.

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“I think it speaks to how rushed this is, and the last-minute nature of the route decision in particular,” said Harrison. “Usually, you wouldn’t have a project coming forward without all these details sorted out.”

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Harrison said the lack of information speaks to how much remains to be figured out and how much consultation need to take place before a federal decision is made by October on whether to designate this as a project of national interest. A positive decision could fast track the project.

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As part of an infrastructure agreement announced last week by Prime Minister Mark Carney and B.C. Premier David Eby, Ottawa has promised $10 billion for expansion of the Roberts Bank corridor.

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But exactly what the expansion refers to is unclear.

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The addition of a second container terminal is priced at $3.5 billion.

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If the federal government was to designate the pipeline and oil shipping terminal in the national interest, Alberts is hoping construction could start as early as the fall of 2027, putting it on the same timeline as the port’s proposed second container terminal at Roberts Bank.

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According to Alberta’s 89-page submission to the federal major projects office, the oil shipping terminal would cover 2.6 square kilometres and include 15 oil storage tanks. There would be two berths at the end of a five-kilometre-long causeway capable of accommodating so-called very large crude carriers, also referred to as super tankers.

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The tank farm would cover about 1.3 square kilometres, an area about one third of the size of Stanley Park.

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The Tsawwassen First Nations have said it was not consulted about placing the oil shipping terminal at Roberts Bank, adding it will need to see more project details and be adequately consulted before taking a position.

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There is also land north of the Roberts Bank port facilities at Brunswick Point. Some of that is held by the Tsawwassen and the Musqueam First Nations. The remainder is held by farmers who lease the land from the federal government. As part of its treaty settlement, the Tsawwassen have the right of first refusal if farmers give up their leases.

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The port has yet to receive approval for its plan to mitigate effects on species at risk, including southern residents orcas and chinook salmon.

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Margot Venton, a staff lawyer at Ecojustice which represented several environmental groups that challenged the second container terminal’s approval, noted there is already a lot of industrialization hurting the environment at Roberts Bank.

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Making the industrial footprint even bigger will have a very significant impact, so there is “no good place” to put more infrastructure, she said.

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Misty MacDuffee, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s wild salmon program director, said choosing Roberts Bank for an oil shipping terminal is not well conceived.

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“They are just asking for a massive backlash.”

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