In an effort to replace a decades-old jet fuel pipeline that runs between rural Waterdown, Ont. and a Toronto storage facility, Imperial Oil has eight registered lobbyists on board as required by the City of Hamilton to address potential questions and concerns.
According to a timeline provided by Imperial Oil, permitting and government, Indigenous and community engagement is underway. Community information sessions will begin in this month and continue through the fall.
“At this stage, Imperial is meeting with municipal government stakeholders to brief them about the project,” said Laura Bishop, community engagement and investment manager, public and government affairs with Imperial.
“It is important to note not all registrants are government lobbyists as we have also included subject matter experts at Imperial who can work with city officials to address any questions they might have about the project.”
The 63-kilometre section of the pipeline, named Imperial’s Sarnia Products Pipeline, provides products used by households and businesses across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. This includes a significant portion of jet fuel for Pearson International Airport, as well as gasoline and diesel fuel.
The Waterdown to Finch Project runs from Imperial’s Waterdown pump station in rural Hamilton to the company’s terminal storage facility in Toronto’s North York area. Most of the replacement work will take place in close vicinity to the existing pipeline.
After the new pipe is built, the old line will be cleaned out, filled in and sealed, a description of the project reads.
An Imperial Oil timeline also indicated there are environmental and cultural assessments, regulatory approval permits or project approvals from the following entities and levels of government:
- Federal — Environment and Climate Change Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Transport Canada.
- Provincial — Infrastructure Ontario; the Ontario Energy Board; Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change; Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
- Regional — Conservation Halton; the Credit Valley Conservation Authority; Hamilton Conservation Authority; Niagara Escarpment Commission; and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
- Municipalities (construction permitting) — City of Burlington; City of Hamilton; City of Mississauga; City of Toronto; Town of Milton; and Town of Oakville.
“We are committed to meaningful community, government and Indigenous engagement throughout the duration of the project. As part of this commitment, we will engage with landowners and community residents,” added Bishop.
Seven of the eight appointed lobbyists are registered Imperial Oil employees and the eighth is a consultant for the company, that is majority-owned by oil giant Exxon Mobil.
All eight came on board the project on various dates in the spring of this year and are forecast to remain active on the project until June 2019.
According to the City of Hamilton Lobbyist Registry, their activity will be “communicating with municipal officials about ongoing maintenance programs related to pipelines.”
In accordance to the project timeline, once permitting is in place and community engagement is complete, the Ontario Energy Board will begin the construction submission process. This is anticipated to be late fall 2019.
The large number of Imperial lobbyists are to ensure all questions and concerns about the potential project’s impacts on endangered species and the areas that some consider to be environmentally sensitive are addressed.
There is no word to date as to who will be working on the actual replacement process.
“Imperial will look to work with local contractors and business services, including from Indigenous groups, throughout the life of the project. As the project is still in its early stages, there are no specific details available at this time about the procurement process and timeline,” said Bishop.
The project is due for completion with the line in service and the site restored by late 2020.
At this stage, Imperial will not provide the cost, and when asked, Bishop said, “What I can tell you is we are committed to doing this right.”
This is basically one lot away from our backyard. We have questions about water table contamination since most properties surrounding this location are on well water. Is the company or government willing to ensure and guarantee that both our water supply and quality with not be affected and how will they go about ensuring this.