Public Notice

Water Supply Tunnel at Second Narrows – Metro Vancouver - Amendment - Public Comments Invited

December 3, 2020 – As part of its Project and Environmental Review process, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority must determine whether the proposed Water Supply Tunnel at Second Narrows – Metro Vancouver - Amendment, located at 400 metres East of Second Narrows Bridge in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia  is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.  Written comments to be received by January 1, 2021.

To help inform this determination and a decision on whether or not to approve the proposed project, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is inviting comments from the public respecting that determination. All comments received will be considered public and may be posted online. For more information, individuals should consult the Privacy Notice on the Registry website.

Written comments must be submitted by January 1, 2021 via the online commenting tool or to:

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
Project and Environmental Review
100 The Pointe, 999 Canada Place
Vancouver, B.C. Canada  V6C 3T4

per@portvancouver.com

The Proposed Project

Traylor Aecon GP on behalf of Metro Vancouver Regional District have proposed to carry out physical works related to the approved Project Permit No. 17-164: Water Supply Tunnel at Second Narrows – Metro Vancouver beyond the standard construction hours and they have also requested to conduct refueling and maintenance within 30 metres of a waterbody.

Extended work hours request

This amendment is being requested for two main reasons:

Safe Haven Refrigeration
Preparation and maintenance of the Safe Haven via ground freezing requires providing electrical power to the refrigeration plants 24 hours a day, seven days a week from January 4 to May 3, 2021. This is required to ensure stability of the excavated face and to provide a safe working environment for the workers completing maintenance activities at the front of the tunnel boring machine. The lack of electrical power at the site drives the need to mobilize and operate diesel powered generators adjacent to the Safe Haven for the duration of this work.

Three primary and one backup 300 kilowatt diesel generators are required. No personnel are required on a regular basis, only in the event of failure would up to three mechanics and a support vehicle be utilized to undertake maintenance during the extended work hours. The generators are mounted in silencing shrouds and emit 66 decibels at 7 metres from the source.

Tunnel Excavation
Tunnel excavation has been proposed to occur 24 hours a day, six days a week from January 4 to May 17, 2021. The pressurized face tunnel excavation on the Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel is time consuming and potentially dangerous, therefore, it requires shift work to complete it within the timeframe allotted by Metro Vancouver and will minimize the total time the tunnel boring machine is exposed to the harsh underground environment. The project components associated with this work include tunnel excavation and support installation. No personnel or equipment is required on the ground surface for the tunnel work.

Request to conduct refueling and maintenance within 30 metres of a waterbody
Condition 50 of approved permit No. 17-164 states that "the Permit Holder shall not conduct refueling or maintenance activities on non-road equipment within 30 metres of any waterbody". A total of four (three primary and one backup) 300 kilowatt diesel generators will be operated at the Safe Haven to power the refrigeration plants, which will be tied into a pair of 1200 gallon fuel tanks and will be located within 30 metres of a waterbody. The generators will need to be refueled and maintained and, therefore, will not comply with this condition. Traylor Aecon GP have requested to amendment the condition such that diesel generator refueling and maintenance at Safe Haven can be conducted.

The 1200 gallon fuel tanks will be double walled for secondary containment and the generators will have internal containment. Traylor Aecon GP Safe Work Procedure "Fueling Equipment within 30 metres of a Watercourse" will be followed during fueling activities and their "Spill Response Plan" will be followed in the event of a spill.