CPR on ALR track

PITT MEADOWS – Pitt Meadows could lose more than 100 acres of protected farmland if CP Rail wins approval to expand its operations in the community.

Plans for the CP Logistics Park [cplogisticspark.ca] were unveiled in December following consultations with the municipality, Katzie First Nation and Vancouver Fraser Port Authority last summer. An initial public consultation on the project wrapped up January 15.

“CP is proposing to construct a multi-modal, multi-commodity transload and logistics facility adjacent to its Vancouver Intermodal Facility in Pitt Meadows, to meet increased rail demand in Canada’s largest trade gateway,” the rail company says.

Project documents outline plans for 13 silos accommodating 15,600 tonnes of peas, lentils and beans (the equivalent of 147 train cars, or one unit train), an auto transload facility, and 11 tanks for holding ethanol and transportation fuels from Alberta and the US Midwest for distribution locally and overseas.

The project will occupy 101 acres south of Lougheed Highway. CP acquired the properties making up the site between 2012 and 2017. The land falls within the Agricultural Land Reserve. However, railway development falls within the jurisdiction of the federal government. CP does not need to file an application with the Agricultural Land Commission to develop a rail line on the property.

This concerns Shannon Roberts of Blooming Meadows, who operates a small-lot mixed farm with her sister near the proposed facility. She also worries about site safety, light pollution and the effect of particulate matter from site activities on her laying hens and field-grown cut flowers.

“A dirty flower is not a sellable flower,” she says, noting that hundreds of trucks will be needed to bring fill to the site, which sits on the floodplain adjacent to the Pitt River.

Preload will affect the water table in the area, which already suffers from drainage issues.

“I honestly don’t feel like I’m going to be able to farm my land,” she said. “I feel like it will be flooded.”

Drainage concerns

Similar concerns were raised when CP bought 58 acres of the site in 2012. Pitt Meadows, which is set to receive at least $4 million in property taxes each year from the proposed development, said at the time it was confident CP would work to mitigate drainage problems.

During an open house in January attended by close to 100 people, CP environmental assessment manager Joe Van Humbeck said the railway is studying the project’s impact on surface water and groundwater, and drafting storm water management plans.

“This data will feed into our engineering team to ensure that our facility includes the measures required to protect the Katzie Slough, the groundwater as well as the other attributes of the environment,” he says.

CP assistant vice-president, market strategy and demand management Jeff Edwards says mitigation plans for adjacent farmland are also under development.

“We recognize the importance of this valuable land and the fact that there is a great deal of support behind the agricultural land across the Lower Mainland,” he says.

However, he adds that the site is ideal for the project, since it’s adjacent to CP’s existing facilities in Pitt Meadows. While the loss will be felt locally, the project will benefit the agriculture sector nationally.

“We are opening markets and supporting the greater Canadian agricultural community through this development,” Edwards says. “I realize that’s not as specific to the local agricultural community … but we look forward to further conversations with local agricultural organizations, and I hope we get to have more of those conversations in the near future to better understand the impacts and the mitigation that we can work with them on.”

Speaking as director of operations for Pitt Meadows in 2012, Kim Grout – now CEO of the Agricultural Land Commission – said CP has a long-term vision for its properties. The commission is among the parties that intend to provide feedback on CP’s plans for the farmland.

A summary report from the first consultation will be available in March, with mitigation plans unveiled this summer. Construction of the project could begin as early as 2026 if federal authorities approve.

All content on this website is copyrighted, and cannot be republished or reproduced without permission.

10 hours ago

... See MoreSee Less

View Comments

Likes: 1
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

15 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 20
Shares: 7
Comments: 0

5 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 7
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 17
Shares: 1
Comments: 0

6 days ago

Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 7
Shares: 1
Comments: 3

There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.