Public notice 

Sterling Shipyard Remediation and Infill – Public comments invited 

October 25, 2021 – As part of its Project and Environmental Review process, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority must determine whether the proposed Sterling Shipyard Remediation and Infill, located at 2089 – 2095 Commissioner Street, Vancouver, is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects. Written comments to be received by November 23, 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. In addition, your contact information may be shared with third parties, e.g., the tenant, other relevant agencies, to help respond to your questions and inform possible mitigations. 

Written comments must be submitted by November 23, 2021 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 

SNC Lavalin on behalf of the port authority (Development) has applied to undertake remediation and redevelopment activities in subtidal, intertidal and uplands areas of a former shipyard at 2089 to 2095 Commissioner Street in Vancouver. Contaminated sediment in the project area would be removed and replaced with clean fill to raise the grade and reclaim 4,500 square meters of additional land for future industrial use. The proposed works include the removal of approximately 17,000 cubic metres of contaminated sediment down to a maximum depth of approximately 5 metres, installation of a 100 metre long rock berm in the low intertidal area of the site, and the placement of approximately 40,000 cubic metres of engineered fill in both the intertidal and upland areas. The contamination from the former shipyard includes debris, wood waste, metals and hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and covers over 80 per cent of the intertidal area down to a maximum depth of 5 metres. The fill layer in this area ranges in depth from 4 metres to 8 metres. Habitat offsetting is also proposed, this includes the creation of two subtidal reefs and marine riparian planting. As some of the activities are dependent on tides, work may need to take place outside of standard hours (except for Sundays and statutory holidays). Should the proposed project be approved, construction is expected to take approximately 10 months to complete.