Before boaters can fill up at a re-established fueling dock at Fisherman’s Cove Marina, West Vancouver and Esso need to agree on how to deal with possible contamination.

Imperial Oil Limited currently holds the lease on the waterlot, a lease that once terminated will also release the oil company from any contamination liability associated with the fuel dock.

“Imperial Oil is arguing that there is no contamination. We are saying we don’t know, there might be,” said Bob Sokol, the district’s director of planning, lands and permits.

Imperial Oil has completed initial environmental studies, but the district’s review of the reports recommend additional work be done to determine what components are beneath the fuel barge.

The information gathered would compile a baseline from which the district could determine not only the current state of the ocean floor, but also new sources of contaminants, Sokol said. Depending on what is found, sometimes it’s best to leave sediments undisturbed, he said.

Imperial Oil is not commenting on the initial study or whether the company will follow the district’s request for an additional environmental report, the company’s spokesperson Jon Harding told The Outlook.

“We continue to work cooperatively with the District of West Vancouver toward finding a mutually beneficial solution that will hopefully clear the way for a new marine fuels dealer to set up a business at Fisherman’s Cove,” he said.

In 2007, Esso, the long-time fuel provider at the Cove, made a business decision to end all of its marine fueling operations in Western Canada. The nearly two-year absence of the fueling dock has greatly impacted North Shore boaters, Peter McCarthy, West Vancouver Yacht Club’s commodore recently told council.

raldous@northshoreoutlook.com