Off-target dredge material dumping at Canadian port sparks concerns

Off-target dredge material dumping at Canadian port sparks concerns    Officials at the Canadian Port of Vancouver have launched an investigation into dredge material dumping by a port contractor that may have damaged an underwater high-voltage cable owned by one of Canada's largest power providers.
   The Vancouver Port Authority said Friday it recently learned that dredging contractors working on the Deltaport Third Berth Project at Roberts Bank in Delta disposed of dredge material outside of the permitted ocean disposal location for the project. The dumping took place about a half-mile outside the ocean location designated by the project permits.
   The British Columbia Transmission Corp. subsequently advised port officials that one of the power provider's high-voltage direct current underwater power cables is located in the area of the contractor's improper dumping and may have been damaged. The line supplies power to Vancouver Island, however BCTC has no reports of outages by island residents. Port officials also believe that some of the dumping may have occurred in U.S. territorial waters.
   The VPA has advised Canadian government officials of the dumping error and is working closely with BCTC, Canada environmental officials and U.S. authorities to investigate and confirm details pertaining to the incident. VPA officials believe that the dumping took place sometime between May 31 and July 10.
   Officials at the port have decided to stop any further dumping by the contractor involved until the cause of the error can be determined and addressed. Port officials are also requiring an independent marine surveyor be onboard all dredge disposal barges in the future to ensure that the dredged material is disposed of in the approved location.
   The Deltaport Third Berth project began in January and when completed will add a third berth to the existing two-berth terminal at the Deltaport container terminal at Roberts Bank.