Environmental Reviews

Environmental team assessing biofilm

To meet our responsibilities under the Impact Assessment Act, the port authority is required to conduct an environmental review of projects proposed on port lands. We use our Project and Environmental Review process to meet this requirement. Through our review, we consider potential environmental effects of projects and mitigation to reduce those effects, as well as adverse impacts on the rights of Indigenous people, Indigenous knowledge, community knowledge, and comments from the public.

We will not authorize or allow a project to proceed if it is likely to result in significant adverse environmental effects. Should a project be approved, environmental conditions are included in the permit to avoid or mitigate significant adverse environmental effects. Through our compliance monitoring and enforcement program, we monitor compliance with permit conditions.

Protected areas

We operate in an ecologically rich region with a high level of biodiversity. Two national wildlife areas, five provincial wildlife management areas and three designated rockfish conservation areas lie within or adjacent to our navigational jurisdiction, as detailed in the table below. We consider these protected areas as part of our project and environmental reviews.

Protected area designation Sites within our navigational jurisdiction
Provincial Wildlife Management Areas
  • Pitt-Addington Marsh Wildlife Management Area (includes Pitt Polder Ecological Reserve)
  • Coquitlam River Wildlife Management Area
  • Roberts Bank Wildlife Management Area
  • Sturgeon Bank Wildlife Management Area
  • South Arm Marshes Wildlife Management Area
National Wildlife Areas
  • Widgeon Valley National Wildlife Area
  • Alaksen National Wildlife Area
Rockfish Conservation Areas
  • Eastern Burrard Inlet
  • Twin Islands
  • Crocker Island

Learn more about our Project and Environmental Review process.

Environmental reporting

Under section 67 to 69 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA, 2012), we were required to report to Parliament annually on our activities. As of August 2019, under the new Impact Assessment Act, information is posted about projects on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry website. We anticipate our last report to Parliament will be on our 2019 activities. Past reports and additional details on environmental reviews are available below:

Reports to Parliament

2018 – Activity report: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEAA, 2012 reviews [PDF]
2017 – Activity report: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEAA, 2012 reviews [PDF]
2016 – Activity report: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEAA, 2012 reviews [PDF]
2015 – Activity report: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEAA, 2012 reviews [PDF]
2014 – Activity report: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEAA, 2012 reviews [PDF]
2013 – Activity report: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEAA, 2012 reviews [PDF]
2012 – Activity report: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority CEAA, 2012 reviews [PDF]

Environmental decisions

2018 – List: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority environmental decisions [PDF]
2017 – List: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority environmental decisions [PDF]
2016 – List: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority environmental decisions [PDF]
2015 – List: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority environmental decisions [PDF]
2014 – List: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority environmental decisions [PDF]
2013 – List: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority environmental decisions [PDF]

2012 – List: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority environmental decisions [PDF]