ENVIRONMENT CANADA investigators believe they have identified the source of a 900-litre diesel oil spill discovered May I along the North Van- couver waterfront between Neptune Bulk Terminals and Seaboard Terminal. By MICHAEL RECKER . News Reporter Although two other ships in the immediate vicinity of the slick had their diesel oil sampled by the coast guard and examined by En- vironment Canadz, a Transport Canada official decided against sampling a third departing vessel. The bulk carrier now thought to be responsible for the spill left the port between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., shortly before the slick was spotted. Said Keith Hebron, head of emergency operations for the En- vironmental Protection Service, “Someone in Transport Canada made the decision not to stop the vessel and take samples. It was the only one left we had. We’re a bit disappointed. Usually you sample all the ships."’ NV shipyard wins contract NORTH VANCOUVER-based Vancouver Shipyards Co. Lid. (VSCL) has been officially awarded the contract to construct an 85-vehicle ferry for the B.C. Ferry Corp. VSCL’s $17.6-million bid was the lowest of four received for the new ferry, which will be built for a contract price of $17,677,700. in addition, the North Van- couver shipyard plans to tender a second bid for the contract to con- struct another of the 85-vehicle ferries for the provincial Crown corporation. The B.C. Ferry Corp. originally put both ferries out to tender, and Vancouver Shipyards had submit- ted a similar $17.6-million bid for the second ferry. “Without the support of the federal government, the industry has been in a downer.”’ — North Vancouver- Capilano MLA Angus Ree eee But B.C. Ferries has now decid- ed to re-tender the ferry contract with a modified delivery time rather than accept the quotations received for the second vessel. VSCL general manager Tom Ward said the new ferry contract could increase the shipyard’s cur- rent work force of 330 to 390, but added that the increase would de- pend on whether there is a slow down in the shipyard’s repair divi- sion, “If there is a turn-down in the repair division, which we expect, then those people would get the work,” said Ward. VSCL outbid two other North Vancouver shipyards, Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc. and Allied Shipbuilders Ltd., as weil as Delta-based Vito Steel Boat and Barge Construction Ltd. for the ferry contract. Vito was the highest bidder with a price of $24.6- million for each of the two ferries. Debbie Trinacty, corporate communications officer for Seaspan Internation! Ltd., VSCL’s parent company, said the shipyard was not surprised at being the lowest bidder for the project. Business Classified Ads Or. Ruth Editorial Page Bob Hunter Lifestyles By SURJ RATTAN News Reporter “*T understand a lot of work went into that (bid). We will definitely bid on the other ferry,’’ said Trinacty. Ward said that engineering work on the new ferry will begin im- mediately. Vessel construction is expected to start in September, with ferry completion scheduled for July 1991. The project is expected to be VSCL’s largest during the next year. The 96 metre-long and 21.2 metre-wide ferry will include a lift-off capacity of 85-vehicles and a total passenger and crew capacity of 336. It will have a cruising speed of 14.3 knots. Present plans call for the new ferry to run on the Jervis Inlet route between Earl’s Cove and Saltery Bay. North Vancouver-Capilano MLA Angus Ree said he was hap- py the provincial government had awarded the ferry contract to a North Vancouver yard. “It reaffirms what the Social Credit provincial government has always done,’’ he said. ‘‘! think it’s great for the North Shore. ‘Without the support of the federal government, the industry has been in a downer,”’ said Ree, referring to Ottawa's recent cancellation of the $680-million Polar Class 8 icebreaker contract which had been promised to B.C. Ree also said the new ferry should be named after the Capilano area, 2 recommendation he plans to make to the provincial cabinet. Meanwhile, tenders close June 28 for the construction of an addi- tional two new 470-vehicle ferries being commissioned by the B.C. Ferry Corp. Preliminary designs were com- pleted earlier this year for the vessels, which are expected to be ready for service in 1992. Trinacty said VSCL is still con- sidering the project. ““Vancouver Shipyards hopes to be a part of the project in some way,’” she said. TV Listings What's Going On Second Class Registration Number 3885 While the decision agains: stop- ping the suspect ship will be in- vestigated internally, the port will have to absorb the cleanup costs of the spill. “It’s hard now,’’ Hebron said, “because without a sample from the vessel there’s no way we can get any cost recoveries — even if the vessel does come back into the port again.’” Tiebron had no firm estimate of the clean-up costs, but he added, ‘I know there was a helicopter trip involved. Burrard Clean had the 3 - Wednesday, May 16, 1990 - North Shore News Suspect ship not sampled for spiil “SOMEONE IN TRANSPORT CANADA MADE THE DECISION NOT TO STOP THE VESSEL AND TAKE SAMPLES...WE‘RE A BIT DISAPPOINTED.” — KEITH HEBRON, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SERVICE slick licker out a couple of times and there was a lot of marine ac- tivity out there. It was no small cost.’” While original reports of the spill pointed to a shore source, Hebron said environment officials had ruled out a land-based diesel fuel sousce early in its investiga- tion. Employees of a nearby company saw oil in an area near a sewer outfall, but Hebron said, ‘when you look in the cutfall and there’s no oil there, then it’s quite a dif- ferent story.”” Vessels caught spilling oil into the harbor may be prosecuted under the Canada Shipping Act or the Fisheries Act. The maximum fine for a first offence under the Fisheries Act is $50,000. A convic- tion for a second spill offence may carry a penalty as high as $100,000 plus cleanup costs and cost of any subsequent civil litigation. Said Hebron, “They’ve been getting some fairly substantial fines, and I’m sure it’s a great in- centive not to spill but these things always happen.” But he added, “This was just a typical spill from a vessel. And contrary to what a lot of people believe the majority of spiils in the port here are from veszels.*’ NEWS photo Stuart Davis PETER STAMPFLI and four-year-old daughter Karina share a hotdog at Hollyburn Playschool’s recent parent/child day. Moms and dads participated with their children in a day of woodworking and games, Canyon Heights homeowner wins monster house case the devaluation of his house. A B.C. SUPREME Court justice’s recent decision to quash the building permit for a so-called monster house in North Vancouver District is being applauded by a neighboring homeowner who took the district to court over the issue. But the district’s lawyer says the decision may well be an ‘‘empty victory.’ Canyon Heights resident Terence Lynch challenged the building permit in court because of the ‘‘careless disregard’? he said district council was showing for homeowners’ views that were being destroyed by new houses. Justice John Spencer ruled that the building permit issued to Robert McArthur for 766 Tudor Ave. contravened the district’s own zoning bylaw, amended in 1988 to prevent developers adding fill to their properties to artificially raise a site’s grade before applying for a development permit. According to the amended bylaw, the height of the house must be measured from the natural grade, which the district's building inspectors had customarily taken to be the grade of the pre-existing house. But in his judgement, Justice Spencer said building inspectors Must attempt to determine, where possible, the natural grade which he interpreted as being the original grade under old fill. “If it was intended that the building inspector be free to decide original grade as the grade tc which a focality had become ac- customed,’* Justice Spencer stated in his judgement, ‘then with each generation of development where a new finished grade is established the foundation wouid be laid to take it as the natural grade in the next generation. Thus the starting point for measurement of a per- mitted height would rise higher and higher generation by genera- tion.”” By ELIZABETH COL GS News Reporter Vancouver alderman Jonathan Baker, the lawyer who represented Lynch, said the district has been measuring those heights incorrectly since it amended the bylaw. Lynch, a 36-year resident at 739 Edgewood Rd., said he became alarmed after looking at the plans for the house that would repiace the original house, built in 1953. Since the court decision, work on the partially constructed house has halted. The court ordered the municipality to pay court costs, but Lynch said he is also seeking compensation for legal fees and Meanwhile, district municipal manager Mel Palmer said the municipality will re-examine the plans based on the judge’s inter- pretation of grade. The proposed house was four feet under the maximum allowable house height according to the district’s interpretation of natural grade, he added. The district’s lawyer Bob Bauman said the decision does not represent a ‘‘revolution’’ in hous- ing heights. ‘In most cases, I suspect, you're not going to find a dramatic change between native soil and the natural grade of the house,’’ he said, But Baker said that the un- contested evidence presented in court showed that the difference was at least 10 feet between the natural and finished grade on the property. NEWS phote Cindy Goodman A ROOM without a view: Canyon Heights homeowner Terence Lynch used fo be able to see a panoramic view of the city stretching from Van- couver port to English Bay.