The Nooksack River drains from near the top of Mt. Baker into the Pacific Ocean in northwest Washington State. This is the river that overflowed its banks a few weeks back and flooded the sumac prairie between Abbotsford and Chilliwack B.C.. It did it again yesterday.
Back in the 70s when I was living in Vancouver, we would occasionally ski at Mt. Baker. I remember the surprisingly flat plain driving south from Abbotsford, BC to Sumas, WA. I have fond memories of the beautiful, rugged and majestic terrain in this area. In the summer we would go camping in the same Cascades mountain range. I recall I was camping near the Nooksack when Mt. St. Helens blew up at precisely 8:32 AM on May 18, 1980. Although some 300 km to the SE. we heard the bang, if groggily.
Mt Baker is visible from Vancouver, accentuated here by telephoto lens.
As you drive south and east into Washington, the plain soon ends and the climb to Mt. Baker (elev. 10, 787 ft.) begins. We used to stop at a great pub in Glacier, WA just before the climb. It was an eclectic spot with milk cans, an old ringer washing machine, a pool table, crab traps and great Olympia, Kokanee and Fosters beer I recall. It is still there known as the Chair 9 now but less eclectic I imagine. Of course we would have to stop there on the way back down too.
Back to the Nooksack. As you drive up the Mt. Baker highway you notice this river on the left in a deep gulley. It is wild water for sure before it empties out onto the flat plain below Apparently the river used to flow north into Sumas Lake before the lake was drained almost exactly 100 years ago. It was diverted westward at the time according to this recent article. Nature has prevailed as the river is now flowing northward again during the heavy rains.
Some of my historical Nooksack area pics taken in the late 1970s.
Fond memories. Now praying that all of the BC flood affected farmers and residents will soon be able to return safely to their properties with minimal additional damage and that their animals can be saved too.
Clearing Imperial Oil refinery site at Ioco, 1914. (City of Vancouver Archives)
Ioco (Imperial Oil Co) Refinery was built in 1914 in Port Moody (Vancouver), BC and closed in 1995 when it was converted to a petroleum products terminal. I worked there as a chemical process engineer from 1974-78. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Ioco Refinery circa 1923
The refinery converted 40,000 bbl/day of light Alberta crude oil to a wide range of products including gasoline and diesel fuels, aviation and marine fuels, home heating oil, propane, butane, bunker fuels, asphalt and specialty chemicals like xylene. Crude oil arrived by pipeline; products were shipped out via pipeline, truck, rail, ship and barge. As such it was a small medium complex refinery. The diagram below is indicative of this facility. We did not produce petroleum coke or hydrogen.
I was contact engineer for the crude distillation unit and then subsequently for the amine treating and Claus sulfur plant. As contact engineer I was responsible for monitoring and reporting on the operation, dialoguing with the operators and equipment techs on issues as well as for special projects such as optimizing the thickness of insulation to install on heated oil tanks, designing pumping and product blender installations, etc. Below is the actual flow plan for Ioco Refinery prepared by Art Quan, P.Eng in 1974.
A good part of the job was problem solving. We were taught that “A problem is a deviation with a cause unknown.” We were given lot’s of training on how to solve problems. Example problems: “We are flairing off too much propane this week because the capacity of the merox treater is down;” or, “The output of the sulphur plant is low because we can’t control the air to H2S ratio accurately.” Fix it! You get the idea.
I remember my first day, entering the control room glittering with controls and screens, slide rule and text book in hand, thinking I was going to change the world. The operator looks up at me and scowls to himself, “not another green engineer that I’ll have to break in.” Well I quickly learned to be humble, ask questions, build trust and gradually the operators would open up and tell you what the problem was from their perspective e.g, “I can’t increase the flow to the crude unit without the safety valve blowing on the distillate recycle tank. Maybe the safety valve pressure setting should be checked.”
Ioco Terminal Today
Once the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union went on strike. I think it was over the imposition of wage and price controls by Pierre Trudeau. Well we engineers and management staff took over operating the refinery. I remember working 7 x 12 hour midnight shifts in a row. We would walk around the units checking the colour of a gauze indicator pinned to our jacket. If it started to turn brown you were in danger of being gassed to death by H2S. I got so tired and stressed out I had an anxiety attack and quit smoking for awhile. Probably a good thing, lol.
The best thing about working at Ioco was the people. I made so many friends there. We skied together, golfed, fished and partied. We had fun and felt a real calling to working there. I worked with some great engineers like Ron Brenneman who went on to become CEO of Petrocanada. Ditto Brant Sangster who became VP Marketing at Petrocanada. I met good friend Greg Walther who went on the manage the Coastal Refinery operations in Corpus Christi, TX. I remember working with John Hunter, a good engineer; Blake Forrest who was bright and good natured; senior engineer Les Gould who mentored me; supervisor Peter Ambrose who moved on to Syncrude; Bob Runge in the instrument shop; Ron Stalker chief of inspection who went to the same high school I did, became chief inspector at CITGO in LA and has passed away now; Ken Blowey (where are you Ken, people have been trying to reach you); supervisor Art Quan, Barry who I went fishing with (here fishey fishey) and Marilyn and Shelley in the office. Also refinery fire chief Al Sholund who authored local history including about Ioco oil tankers.
I also remember working with Chuck Chang who moved on to BC Hydro Gas, Eric Brown and Michel Poliquin in the computer group, Al Matsumoto with Reid Crowther Engineers, good friend Neil Nicholson from Newcastle on Tyne who moved back to the UK, Roy Warnock who went to Bechtel, Edmonton, Tom Mitchell who transferred to Dartmouth Refinery (and then worked with my university class buddy Gerry Sullivan as the CEO of Open Corporation) and, a slew of others. (If any of you and any other Ioco colleague I failed to mention are reading this please drop me a comment – thanks!)
Imperial Oil was and is an extremely well managed company. However it is a tough company not unwilling to make changes which affect people. After 4 years at the refinery, I moved to their Product Distribution Division for another 4 years.
Alex Pivarnyik was Refinery Manager and a compassionate leader
About the demise of Ioco Refinery. Remember that pipeline, the Trans Mountain that brought crude oil from Alberta? Well turns out it can also bring refined product. In 1976, Imperial built a brand new state of the art refinery in Edmonton. The Strathcona refinery was huge, first 120,000 bbl/day, then 165,000 bbl/day and now 187,000 bbl/day capacity. In 1995, Imperial Oil decided to shut down the relatively inefficient Ioco Refinery and ship refined petroleum products by pipeline from Strathcona and some by rail to Vancouver from Alberta. The cost of the landed product is less this way. So Ioco Refinery was permanently shutdown and dismantled at the end of 1995. A sad day for the hundreds of skilled employees that worked there for sure.
Two other Vancouver refineries were shut down leaving only one in operation (Parkland Fuels Corp.) Fast forward to 2019. The population of British Columbia has grown immensely, particularly the Lower Mainland. There is now a shortage of refined product which is filled by imports from Washington State. There is an industry perceived need for a new refinery to be built in Vancouver but the political, social and environmental forces arrayed against this are huge. Meanwhile, massive traffic jams, slow commutes, unaffordable housing and high priced fuels are common here.
Ioco Crude Unit c. 1977Ioco tank farm looking toward Belcarra c. 1977Ioco pipeway c. 1977Ioco butane sphere c. 1977
I am all for a greener future but we have to stop driving our fossil fueled cars, make better use of solar and electricity to heat our homes, take public transit more often, stop flying, cruising etc. Thanks for all those memories Ioco friends, you are not forgotten. In the moment, what do you think about the oil industry, pipelines and how we can ensure a greener future?
Original Ioco fire hydrant courtesy Bob Lindley
Bob Lindley recently sent me the above photo of an Ioco fire hydrant destined for the metal dealers dump that he rescued. I wonder if it was ever used other than for training and maintenance? Thanks Bob. Do you live near Ioco and/or, did you work there?
I am adding this recent photo of the Trans Mountain Pipeline marine terminal in Burnaby courtesy of the Globe and Mail. Apparently they are dredging Vancouver harbour so that the crude carrying ships can be loaded to 100% capacity vs. the current 70%.
We disembarked the Westerdam efficiently. However Dave had now picked up the head cold that Marie and everyone else on board got. We picked up our rental and were soon on our way to North Van in some light showers. We have been to YVR (Vancouver) several times before and Dave had lived here after university graduation, many years ago.
1053 Lillooet Rd
Finding our way to 1053 Lillooet Rd, Dave’s old residence, was tricky due to all the new condo development. There is a Holiday Inn where the Coachhouse Inn used to be. Took a few photos and chatted with the people across the street, who incredibly had also lived in 1053. They said this place would fetch 450k now more than 10 times what it was worth back in the early 80s. It’s a small 2 bedroom condo.
St. Paul’s Church
We then made our way to North Van St Paul’s Church to say hi to Fr Tap Kurideepan. OMI. It is a heritage Squamish First Nation mission church that has great spirit and is going strong. We drove across the Lions Gate Bridge and found the Oblates residence called Pandosy Place in the heart of Kitsilano. Fr Robert Smith, OMI greeted us warmly as did Fr Jim Bleakley, OMI. It was Mary Immaculate’s Feast Day to honour her birthday. We were treated to a Liturgy of the Word followed by a social and dinner. Pandosy Place is named after Fr. Charles Pandosy, OMI who achieved folk hero status in B.C. after a life of itinerant ministry to first nations and settlers in the Okanagan Valley in the 19th century.
Geese heading for First BeachDave also lived here in Pt Grey briefly
The next day we hit the road again and visited Dave’s old Imperial Oil work haunts in Burnaby and Port Moody. We drove by the Trans Mountain Pipeline Terminal. Judging by the construction going on there, they are expecting imminent approval despite the latest court challenges.
Dave spent time automating this terminal with Norm TatlowNorm and I played a lot of golf here after workIoco Refinery is now a storage and distribution terminalDave worked here when the refinery was on the top of the hill
We drove up past Ioco to Belcara Park on Burrard Inlet and watched people fishing for crab. It was so peaceful and mystical. Returning home we opted to go out for dinner on W 4th Ave to avoid contaminating the 7 elderly Oblates living in beautiful Pandosy Place.
The next day was sunny so we drove up to Whistler along the beautiful Howe Sound. The highway has been twinned and greatly improved since the mid 1970s when Dave used to drive it in winter. We walked around Blackcomb and Whistler villages marveling at the world class resort this has now become. Visited the Olympic Centre and then headed home. Dave was still suffering from the head cold he got on the cruise. Marie was finally better.
Dave rented this ski chalet way back in 1976-77
Our last day we headed for Granville Island on foot, walking the Greenway path right next to our residence. Dave remembers when they opened this giant marketplace in 1979. It consists of shops, restaurants, a market and nautical service outlets all crammed into what is a former industrial site. State of the art back then it still looks pretty good now but is very crowded with tourists all the time. We took a longer walk back via Kitsilano Beach, our holiday here now almost over.
We are ready to go home sweet home. After Oraison (group silent prayer) we had a social hour with Frs. Robert, John, Gilbert, Vince, Oliver, Jules, Andrew and 2 others. It was great followed by dinner and laughs. We felt so welcome and honoured by our Oblate hosts, getting to participate in their daily prayerful lives.
Fr. Robert Smith, OMI accepts our gift with a smile
The next morning we said our goodbyes and had an uneventful trip home. Our colds finally gone, thanks be to God.
Jericho Beach
It was a visit down memory lane – some good, some not so good. Thanks for reading.
I will be following this post up with one about the demise of Ioco Refinery and related issues.
From 1974-78, I was a process engineer working at the now defunct Imperial Oil Ioco refinery on Burrard Inlet near Vancouver, B.C.. In the photo below, you can see how beautiful the setting was.
It was an opportunity to put my university training into practice. In those days, Ioco received light Alberta crude oil via the Trans Mountain pipeline and turned it into refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, propane, bunker oil and asphalts.
As a “contact” engineer my job was to interact with the refinery operators, monitor, report on and optimize the operations. I was initially assigned the pollution control units of the plant that do the cleanup and then to the crude unit that did the major distillation splitting of the crude oil as it entered the plant – about 40,000 barrels a day then.
I remember peering into red-hot furnaces where the pipes containing crude oil would be glowing red, climbing towers to inspect gauges and equipment, and urging the operators to open the valve a little more to increase production. We wore a little fabric H2S indicator that if it turned brown, meant you were being poisoned and to get out right away! It was the best of times and the worst of times.
Well, Ioco refinery closed in 1995 and was converted to a products terminal. It now receives refined petroleum products from Alberta via the Kinder Morgan (former Trans Mountain) pipeline and ships them out by barge, tanker, truck and rail, all over B.C.
The Kinder Morgan company also sends unrefined heavy (oil sands) crude oil to Vancouver now for trans-shipment to foreign refiners via tanker. They propose to expand the capacity from 300,000 barrels to about 900,000 barrels/day by twinning the line. This is causing much consternation among indigenous and local communities along the route. They are concerned about:
increased risk and environmental impact of pipeline break and spill
increased risk of shoreline leak at the Burnaby tanker terminal
increased risk of tanker leak in the Burrard Inlet, Vancouver harbour and up and down the lower Mainland coast
I tend to sympathize. Oil sands crude is very thick and although mixed with a dilluent, would tend to make a spill extremely hard to cleanup as it would be very sticky, heavy and coating. Going from 2 outgoing tanker loads/week to 6 or more certainly does increase the risk of an accidental spill that could damage nature and wildlife for many years to come. Finally, the motive of Kinder Morgan is to make profits for its shareholders. Is this a valid reason to increase the risk of such devastation to people’s livelihoods, communities and to nature?
I say no, despite my nostaligic fondness for the industry, that pipeline and the engineers who build and maintain it. Stop the pipeline expansion now! And consider making your next car purchase a hybrid or electric one to reduce fossil fuel demand and reduce carbon emissions!
Express your opinion on this important decision to Prime Minister Trudeau by signing the petition to stop this pipeline expansion now.
I just finished reading Cross in the Wilderness by Kay Cronin. It is the story of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate opening up of the British Columbia wilderness in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was written in 1960 long before the term “cultural genocide” was applied to the way Canada treated its First Nations and related peoples with the residential school solution.
As an Oblate Associate, I wanted to learn more about what the Oblates actually did in yesteryear and today as missionaries to our First Nations, Deni and Inuit people. There is a lot of hand wringing and rewriting of history going on right now resulting from the imminent release of the Truth and Reconciliation Report June 2, 2015.
Well my conclusion is it was not all bad what the Oblates did. The Oblates starting around 1850 in Oregon and then moving north into B.C., founded “missions” to proclaim Christ’s kingdom and His good news. They baptized natives, taught them scripture and English or French, gave them the Eucharist, tended the sick, buried the dead and consoled the bereaved. Is this not what Christ did? The goal was to make responsible Christian citizens out of what were up until then the “children of the forest”.
In addition to chapels and churches, they built schools, hospitals and whole communities where none existed before in places like Mission, Williams Lake, Kamloops, Esquimalt and New Westminister. As well they ministered to the local white community which swelled after the gold rushes in the Cranbook and Chilcotin areas.
However in one section the book says that the Oblate priests and brothers brought the teachings of Christ and the elements of education to an ignorant, half-heathen and downtrodden race. Children sometimes were retained against their will to prevent them from leaving school. Often it was the European sense of cultural superiority at play more than the religious forces.
I was amazed at the number of buildings – schools, hospitals and churches were built by the Oblates. They even operated a successful ranch near Williams Lake for many years as well as farmed produce and meat in order to survive. They were known as “specialists in difficult missions” by the various Popes of the era involved.
It was only later that the Government in Canada got directly involved and tried to assimilate the natives by removing children from their families and forcing them to go to the residential boarding schools. They hired the various churches to run the schools. Abuses no doubt took place including the deaths of children due to disease and malnutrition. At one point there were 3000 active Oblates working across Canada in virtually every province. Today there are much fewer.
So what is one to believe. Some say this was “cultural genocide” – a human rights black mark against Canada based on what we consider now to be right. Others say not so fast, a lot of good work was done in teaching languages, manners, European dress, personal hygiene and the Christian faith. However separating kids from their families and expecting them to happily learn a new culture and reject their own cultural, and family roots seems at best, naive and at worst, a sinister experiment by today’s enlightened standards.
In the moment I say let’s not forget the good that these Oblates did in opening up the country and bringing civilization and humanitarian support to the natives for the first time. What do you say?
