If you鈥檙e near North 91原创鈥檚 Cates Park at the south end of Indian Arm this week and see what looks like several boats and crews desperately trying to contain an oil spill, don鈥檛 fret.
It鈥檚 not for real.
A three-day oil spill response training exercise will be conducted in Burrard Inlet from Tuesday to Thursday, days after 91原创 joined a list of cities unhappy with Kinder Morgan鈥檚 proposed twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby.
However, a spokesman for the organization conducting the exercise said Monday it is a regularly scheduled event that was not prompted in any way by the Kinder Morgan proposal.
鈥淣o, this is a regular exercise,鈥� said Michael Lowry of the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, which delivers oil spill response services within B.C. including Burrard Inlet under the Canada Shipping Act. 鈥淲e did an exercise in Boundary Pass three weeks ago and one in Howe Sound four months ago. We鈥檙e training constantly so this is part of our regular regime.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be deploying booms from the ships and putting skimmers in the water to test them as well.鈥�
He said the exercise, which will take place each day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will be quite visible, 鈥渟o we don鈥檛 want anyone panicking and thinking there鈥檚 actually a spill.鈥�
The exercise, part of WCMRC鈥檚 regular contractor training program, will involve several spill response vessels deploying boom and skimming equipment in the water, and in accordance with Environment Canada regulations, no product will be used during the spill response training exercise.
The vessels will include a 250-foot barge and equipment platform, a 165-foot barge and three dedicated oil skimmers.
Lowry said that WCMRC works with Port Metro 91原创 and that the exercise will not disrupt any shipping lanes in the inlet.
Earlier this month, 91原创 joined a long list of municipal governments unhappy with the Trans Mountain proposal, with city council receiving a staff report outlining the city鈥檚 strong opposition to the proposal.
It came soon after the Lower Mainland Local Government Association, which represents 33 municipalities and three regional districts between Yale and Pemberton, narrowly voted to oppose the proposed pipeline.
Kinder Morgan hopes to triple the line鈥檚 capacity to 890,000 barrels of oil a day to supply the offshore market. The expansion would mean as many as 40 more oil tankers entering Burrard Inlet monthly.
However, municipal governments have little power to stop the project if it gains federal approval, with their only recourse in the courts.
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