Public notice

East berth maintenance dredging – Alliance Grain Terminal– Public comments invited

July 14, 2026 – As part of its Project and Environmental Review process, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority must determine whether the proposed East berth maintenance dredging – Alliance Grain Terminal, located at 1155 Stewart Street, Vancouver, are likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects. 

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 August 13, 2026 to:

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

Proposed Project

The proposed project is to dredge ~6,500 cubic metres of sediment over a 4,500 square metre area to restore the East berth to the 1995 depths of 13.7 m (45 ft). This berth has not been dredged since 1995, when the pocket was blasted and dredged to increase berth depth for larger vessel access.

Dredging is proposed to be conducted from the water using a barge-mounted crane equipped with a clamshell bucket. Based on sediment characterization at the site, sediments tested are considered contaminated = IL+. Dredged sediment will be loaded onto one or more designated material barge(s) for transport off-site for disposal at an appropriate upland facility. Some sediment is likely to be spilled grain, while other sediment appears to be the result of the three nearby combined storm outfalls, which discharge sediment and debris during rainfall events. Other sediment may have originated from surrounding areas which are not as deep, as a result of marine currents or tug wash. Anthropogenic debris in the area to be dredged includes steel pieces, a tire, and many small bits of garbage.