January 2024 EAC Minutes
| Meeting date: | January 18, 2024 | Meeting time: | 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
| Location: | Microsoft Teams | Prepared by: | Brenden McBain |
| In attendance: | Wendy Avis Brenden McBain Zoë Greig Bijan Pourarimi Eddie Uyeda Babak Behnia Morgan Guerin Shelina Sidi Rene McKibbin Erin Weckworth |
YVR, Climate and Environment – Chair YVR, Climate and Environment City of Vancouver (for Karen Wong) City of Vancouver Citizen Rep Transport Canada City of Richmond Musqueam Indian Band / YVR Metro Vancouver Canadian Wildlife Service (ECCC) Fraser Basin Council |
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| Guests/Presenters: | Mark McCaskel David McPhie Yeganeh Asadian Simon Robinson Gonzalo Wong Koo |
FSM Management Group YVR, Climate and Environment YVR, Climate and Environment YVR, Climate and Environment YVR, Climate and Environment Co-op |
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| Regrets: | Karen Wong June Ryder Myrka Manzo Judy Williams Taylor Groenewoud |
City of Vancouver Nature Conservancy BC Air Canada Fraser River Coalition |
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| Secretary: | Brenden McBain | YVR, Climate and Environment | |
Meeting Minutes
1. Introductions & Welcome
Wendy welcomed the committee and shared the meeting etiquette. Wendy acknowledged that YVR is on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people and the importance of the 30-year agreement in place to support our relationship. Wendy welcomed members, ran through the meeting agenda, and encouraged participants to share their comments and questions as well as taking breaks throughout the meeting. Wendy welcomed Bijan back for another term with the committee and also thanked Cynthia Zhou who had stepped away from the committee since last meeting in 2023.
2. Review of previous minutes
Minor comments were raised regarding the draft meeting minutes from the October 18, 2023, meeting and were corrected. As such they will be adopted as final and posted at yvr.ca in English and French. There were no action items from the meeting.
Wendy let the group know that the committee minutes will be posted on our website as a webpage, rather than a PDF, moving forward in 2024 in an effort to improve accessibility and workflow. This website change will result in a loss of copies of prior minutes, which are typically kept online for two years. Members and public who are interested in previous minutes can request a copy at environment@yvr.ca. A copy of the minutes in the existing PDF form will continue to be provided to committee members.
3. Airport Authority Updates
Wendy updated the committee that a new Energy manager, Levi Higgs, has joined the Climate and Environment department. Levi comes to YVR with a diverse background in environmental sustainability, energy management, and high-performance green buildings. He worked as the City of Richmond’s Corporate Energy and Sustainability Manager for eight years, has worked for the Canadian Green Building Council, and most recently as the Energy and Sustainability Manager at Colliers Real Estate Management Services. Wendy also welcomed Gonzalo Wong Koo and Francisco Sandoval Giron, two new co-ops with the team for the next 8 months. Gonzalo will be participating in the EAC committee.
Wendy updated the committee on the recent heavy snowfall of over 27 cm that YVR experienced and noted the significant improvements at the airport following the after-action review from the prior winter. This year’s snowfall even exceeded last years amount by 3 cm (27.2 cm). While annual stats will be reported in Q2, Wendy shared that at the start of December we were at 22.8 million passengers, up 32% from the year prior with end of the year travel expected to exceed 2017 levels.
Wendy also shared the results from the 13th Annual Holiday Hamper Drive back in December in support of Quest Outreach Society. We were able to knock our goal of 1500 hampers completely out of the park, collecting 1611 hampers! These hampers will feed more than 9000 British Columbian's for the holiday season!
4. 2023 Environmental Audit Results
Brenden McBain provided an overview of the audit program and audit results from 2023. The Airport Authority uses a risk-based approach to determine when tenants should undergo an audit, parameters include assessing the size of operation, use of hazardous materials and proximity to sensitive ecosystems, most tenants are audited every four years. In 2022, audits were completed for seven tenants as well as a review of a tenant’s environmental management system with no major issues were found. Once findings are identified, ENV works with tenants and provides any relevant support materials, such as spill management and hazardous waste management posters, to help address the issues. The program provides a valuable opportunity for YVR to engage tenants, ensures good oversight of operations, and information is shared with the Board of Directors.5. Update on Development Projects at YVR
Mark McCaskel, from FSM Management Group, presented on the Vancouver Airport Fuel Delivery Project, now called the South Fraser Marine Terminal, which is moving towards operation this spring following regulatory approval. The first receipt of fuel is expected in Q2 of 2024. The committee didn’t have any questions for Mark. Wendy and Simon thanked Mark for this engagement with the committee over the multi-year project.
Simon Robinson provided the committee with a high-level summary of new, active, and completed development projects. Updates on several active construction projects occurring at YVR were providing including the Taxiway A expansion, South airfield improvements, SICA Dike West Upgrade, and Ferguson Road Realignment. Simon also went over new planned projects including the SICA Dike East Upgrade, Barge Facility Improvement, Perimeter Fence Relocation, and additional Pavement De-icing Chemical Storage.
The committee raised ideas around owl habitat and interpretive signage improvements regarding the Ferguson Road and SICA Dike East projects respectively, both of which were already being considered and actioned by the projects. Minor clarifications were also discussed regarding navigational permits for the barge facility projects.
6. Round Table and Discussion
Canadian Wildlife Services shared their continued work on a restoration project within the Sea Island Conservation Area (SICA) which included an additional planting of over 500 plants near the eastern edge of the Ferguson Road project. The City of Richmond offered updates regarding work on their official community plan regarding environmentally sensitive areas, new mapping, and development permit workflow. Metro Vancouver shared their continued work on an emissions inventory of larger sources of emissions in the region. Fraser Basin Council shared news on the upcoming Plug in BC event happening in North Vancouver and interest in increasing awareness of Salmon-Safe standards amongst municipal staff and developers in the Lower Mainland. Transport Canada updated the committee on recent proposed changes to Health Canada’s drinking water guidance for PFAS, which will decrease to 30 parts per trillion. Finally, the City of Vancouver mentioned their focus on the new provincial requirements for development near transit areas.
7. Upcoming Meetings
Wendy informed the committee that 2024 is the last year of the current Environmental Management Plan. 2023 EMP results will be shared in the Q2 meeting.
To better balance schedules and resourcing Wendy proposed that future Q1 meetings be shifted into early February. The committee agreed. There was also some discussion of shifting the May meeting later in the month but will be assessed for 2025 during the Q2 meeting.
Thursday May 2nd 1-3 pm
Thursday Oct 17th 1-3 pm
Summer tour – TBD