Burnaby refinery pays $31K firefighting bill after January incident that led to foul stench

A boat travels past the Parkland Burnaby Refinery on Burrard Inlet at sunset in Burnaby, B.C., on Saturday, April 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A Burnaby refinery has paid back a bill of more than $31,000 connected to an incident that caused a foul stench and led to a public safety advisory earlier this year.

In a letter sent to city council late last month, Parkland Corporation attached a cheque for $31,872.30 for fire department costs incurred during the Jan. 21 incident.

A motion to city council from the week following the incident called on city staff to find out if Burnaby could make the refinery pay for those costs. 

"Burnaby taxpayers should not be on the hook for this. And it also sends a message that companies will be held accountable for damages they cause in their communities," Coun. Daniel Tetrault said during the meeting on Jan. 29. One month later, the payment was sent to the city.

"We continue to value our relationship with the City of Burnaby, our neighbours, the local community and businesses," Parkland's letter to the city said. "We have begun our efforts to re-engage the community and we look forward to the coming weeks and months to establish a new trajectory of engagement going forward."

The incident unfolded as an attempt to re-start the refinery’s fluid catalytic converter had to be abandoned. It was during that shutdown attempt that a plume and odour emerged.

Parkland had issued an advisory on its website two days beforehand, saying people who live nearby may notice noise and "higher-than-usual flare" from the facility.

The company says it will also increase its social investment in the community by $31,000.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Martin MacMahon and Lisa Steacy