RICHMOND (NEWS1130) - The City of Richmond is very worried about a fuel pipeline project aimed at making YVR more efficient. There are fears the environment could take a huge hit.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie spoke live on News1130. He is concerned that if something like a major oil spill were to happen, the city's shorelines would never recover.
"Statistically the risks may be very low, but all you need is another Exxon-Valdez or something akin to a problem on the river, and you'll cause great, great environmental damage."
Instead, Brodie thinks there is a better idea. "With the International Airport being right on the river, and on the Strait of Georgia, surely they can get those barges and the tankers quite close to the airport, off-load them, and then a very short line would take the fuel to its destination."
Right now it's trucked in from a pipeline ending on the city's north side.
The proposal calls for an 80-million litre storage facility near the Massey Tunnel and a 15-kilometre pipeline to connect it with the airport.