Burnaby’s mayor and council passed a pair of motions Monday seeking “accountability” from the operator of a refinery that experienced a malfunction earlier this month, releasing a foul odour and prompting an air quality bulletin.
The Burnaby Fire Department was called to the scene, and council heard Monday that it deployed 34 firefighters and eight trucks.
Fire Chief Chris Bowcock told council Monday that the response cost $29,700.
As first reported by the Burnaby Now, that cost was the subject of a motion from councillors Daniel Tetrault and Alison Gu, who argued refinery operator Parkland Corp. should be picking up the tab.
“While that sum may not be that large in the grand scheme of things, I still think Burnaby taxpayers should not be on the hook for this, and it also sends a message that polluting companies will be held accountable for damages they cause in our communities,” Tetrault told council.
Burnaby, as the site of several major oil and gas facilities including the Trans Mountain tank farm, the Westridge terminal and the Parkland refinery, takes on a disproportionate risk — while Metro Vancouver as a whole gains the economic benefit, Gu said.
“The risks include safety, but the negative downsides are also the costs,” she said.
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“This motion seeks to use essentially the only tool available to the city in order to be able to seek accountability for Burnaby residents.”
At the same meeting, council also approved a motion from Mayor Mike Hurley calling for the B.C. Energy Regulator to conduct an independent investigation into the incident.
Hurley said he was frustrated with a lack of communication from the company over the incident.
“I kept waiting for Parkland to step out and tell us what was going on … I thought they would be out there letting us know what had happened and what particulates were being put into the air, and how that could be mitigated as best as possible,” he said.
“That never happened.”
Hurley added that he only learned that nine workers at the site reported for first aid on the day of the incident from media reports.
In a statement to Global News, Parkland said that reporting to first aid is a matter of assessment, and does not actually mean an individual requires medical attention. Two of the people who reported to first aid on the 21st later visited their family medical provider.
“We value our longstanding relationship with the City of Burnaby, and we will continue to directly engage with them as we keep the lines of communication open,” the company said.
“Additionally, we remain in constant contact with all relevant regulators, and stakeholders, including publishing daily community updates on our website, social media, and via email, and by responding directly to members of our community.”
The company has said it ran into a problem at the facility on Jan. 21 while trying to restart the refinery after a shutdown due to extreme cold weather.
It advised the public of the possibility of another round of “increased odour, flaring and visible smoke” last week as it underwent a procedure related to restarting the facility, but has estimated refining will be down for up to four weeks.