Refinery questions linger

Some community members hoping to learn more about a large-scale fuel plant proposed for the Tk’emlups reserve say they still have some questions after attending an open house on the project.

Azure Sustainable Fuels Corp. is partnering with Tk’emlups te Secwepemc and Sc.wenwen Economic Development Corporation on the proposed project, called 7 Mile Renewable Fuels, for which a parcel of land is being eyed alongside the CN Rail tracks south of Rayleigh — across the North Thompson River from Westsyde.

Dozens of attendees filled the first of two open houses held on Wednesday at the CLC Assembly Hall to hear more about the project, many from Westsyde and Rayleigh. Organizers prohibited photographs from being taken inside the meeting.

Some attendees who spoke to Castanet said they still had lingering questions. Westsyde resident Shelley Mervin said she has concerns about the impact of the proposed facility on the neighbourhood.

“It directly affects us right across the river, visually, smell, noise,” she said.

“They kind of said the smell isn't an issue, obviously that was my biggest thing reading about it, so maybe that's not so bad.”

Darrell Eustache said he thought the project would benefit the area economically and said the environmental and sustainability focus sounded promising.

“It just gives them the opportunity to be under the pressure and under that lens where everybody's watching them to make sure that it's all environmentally sound,” he said.

Plans for the facility were first unveiled in 2022 for a different site closer to the Halston Connector.

How it works

The refinery would primarily turn vegetable oils, such as canola and soybean oil, into low-carbon jet fuel. Once fully constructed, the company said the plant could produce 20,000 barrels a day.

Paul Komierowski, Azure project manager, said the feedstock would be brought in on rail and put into storage before being treated.

“There’d be hydrogen manufacturing that we would be doing on site, and then we’d be hydro-treating it,” he said.

“Mixing the hydrogen with petrol would create the sustainable aviation fuel, and then that would get pumped out of storage and then exported with rail.”

Azure has a plan to build a cross-Canada network of sustainable aviation fuel plants — one on Tk’emlups land, another in Manitoba and a third in Ontario.

Komierowski said TteS is the regulator for the project and will be giving the final decision on approval.

Indigenous Services Canada is providing a due diligence review and is advising throughout the process. The TteS development approval board will approve building permits, occupancy permits and earthworks permits.

Smells, noises and lights

Stantec was hired to conduct environmental testing. April Hauk, the company's senior atmospheric specialist, said no odour is expected to be produced.

The only potential source of smell would be the feedstock storage tanks, and Hauk said activated carbon filters could be used to filter any potential smells.

A delegation that presented Monday to a Kamloops city council economic committee said a complaint-based system would be used for odours.

Hauk said an environmental assessment is underway, including an air quality emissions assessment and noise assessment.

She said the current baseline noise in the nearby communities is higher than the amount of noise predicted to be produced by the facility.

“During the day, it’ll still sound like a quiet street, and then during the night, we’ll have sounds similar to what’s currently happening in the communities,” she said.

Tana Jones, real estate and land development specialist with the Sc.wenwen Economic Development Corporation, said a ground flair will be used several times a year for emergency testing. Lights would be directed downward within the project site and wouldn’t travel across the river.

“We’re working on detailed renderings as the detailed engineering also moves forward, expected in early 2025,” Jones said.

Impact on water

Becky Marks, Azure regulatory and permitting lead, said the project intends to draw water from an existing intake in the North Thompson river.

“For phase one, during normal operations, the facility would use less than half an Olympic-sized swimming pool of river water,” Marks said, noting they had been advised there is “more than sufficient water” for the facility.

Marks said there are two options for handling wastewater.

“One is possibly sending this filter reject water back to the river after treatment at the facility, or sending it into the city’s wastewater treatment facility for processing and their handling,” she said.

A biophysical field assessment, two environmental site assessments and an archaeology overview assessment have been completed. An archaeology impact study is expected to be complete in 2025.

Komierowski said the project would produce about 1,500 jobs during construction and 150 once operational, including power engineers, electricians and accountants.

“Our plan is to work with employment and training, as well as Thompson River University, to identify these opportunities for employment, these jobs, and understand how we can support them in training as well as make sure that there's labour available for this project,” he said.

The plant could produce renewable diesel or sustainable aviation fuel depending on market conditions.

2028 startup eyed

Komierowski said the project would only proceed with long-term commitments from companies that want to use the products.

“It’s not a we will built it and they will come, it’s a they will come and we will build it,” he said.

A front end engineering and design study is expected to be done by the end of the year, regulatory applications will continue into 2026. Construction would begin later that year, with an anticipated startup date of 2028.

Engagement efforts will focus on a handful of areas within city limits, including neighbourhood groups in Westsyde, Westmount, Batchelor Heights and the North Shore.

More information about the project can be found online.