Background
Lehigh Hanson Materials Limited (Lehigh), is proposing to construct, operate and decommission a grinding facility with a marine terminal (the Project) to manufacture Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM). The Project includes the construction of a grinding facility and associated dust-collection equipment, raw-material stockpiles, storage silos, pneumatic piping connecting to the cement plant, and a covered conveyor leading to a newly constructed vessel berth. The Facility, once fully operational, is expected to have an average annual production capacity of 650,000 t and employ approximately 14 people. The Project will be located adjacent to the existing Tilbury Island cement plant, on lands owned by Lehigh that are zoned for industrial use. The project address is 7753 Berg Road, Tilbury Island, in Delta, British Columbia.
Lehigh is a division of the Heidelberg Cement Group (Heidelberg) – one of the world’s largest building material companies, with about 60,000 employees at more than 3,000 production sites in 60 countries across the globe. Heidelberg acquired its Canadian operations in 1993, and currently maintains four cement plants in Canada, including the Tilbury Island cement plant, along with extensive aggregate deposits and many ready-mix concrete plants.
Why This Location?
The Project is proposed to be located along the Fraser River, on Tilbury Island, Delta, BC. and will cover an area of approximately 8.5 ha (7.9 ha of terrestrial area and 0.6 ha of aquatic habitat). The location was selected as it is adjacent to, and can make use of, existing infrastructure owned and operated by Lehigh, including the existing vessel berth that will be used during initial Stage 1 operations. Tilbury Island is a highly developed industrial area, with approximately 80% of the land used for industrial activities, including the existing Lehigh cement plant, the FortisBC Tilbury LNG Plant, Dynacor Coatings Ltd., and several manufacturing and retail businesses, including those in the Tilbury Island Industrial Park that is nearing full build-out.
Lehigh’s Commitment to Sustainability and the role of Supplementary Cementitious Material
Lehigh is dedicated to providing sustainable building materials that have a positive impact on society and the environment both during and after their service life. Lehigh reflects this commitment by:
- Promoting best practices in sustainable construction
- Continuously working to improve energy efficiency in the production and transportation of materials
- Ensuring durability, especially in projects where product failure could impact the environment
- Adopting impact rating systems to set new benchmarks
- Continually investing in new technologies
- Finding innovative ways to take recycling and product life cycles to new limits
Supplementary Cementitious Materials replace cement in concrete and are made from by-products (slag, silica fumes, fly ash) that originate from steel mills, blast furnaces, and coal-fired power generation plants. Re-using these materials has the benefit of improving the hardness, durability, and porosity of concrete, while also reducing the volume of greenhouse gases associated with the production of cement by up to 40%. With greater demand for green-building projects certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and changing building codes, SCMs will become critical for the continued sustainable use of concrete.
To create the Supplementary Cementitious Material, Lehigh is proposing to import and store Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS), a by-product of the iron and steel industry, which will be ground to suitable fineness and mixed with cement to produce slag cement.
Project Development Stages
Project development will occur over two stages:
Stage 1 will entail construction and commissioning of the grinding facility and associated infrastructure. Materials will be shipped through the existing marine terminal at the adjoining Delta Cement Plant. Preliminary design for Stage 1 is expected to be completed to support the required environmental assessment process. Stage 1 is expected to be complete in 15 months excluding pre-construction and site preparation
Stage 2 will entail construction and commissioning of the marine terminal and conveyor belt system, and is expected to be complete in 16 to 22 months, excluding pre-construction and site preparation, depending on the chosen configuration. The design for Stage 2 will remain conceptual, and the timing of construction is dependent on market conditions.
Current Activities and Path Forward
At this time, the Delta Grinding Facility is in the early stages of project development. The Project is subject to review under both the BC Environmental Assessment Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012. The Project is undergoing a provincial and federal environmental assessment through a substituted process led by the BC Environmental Assessment Office. The BC Environmental Assessment Office will conduct a single assessment that the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia will rely upon to make their respective decisions on whether the Project should proceed.
The Project entered the environmental assessment process with the issuance of the Section 10 order by the BC Environmental Assessment Office on March 14, 2019. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, now the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, commenced the environmental assessment on May 7, 2019. On August 13, 2019 the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada notified Lehigh that they are grandfathered under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012, and that under provisions of the federal Impact Assessment Act the substituted environmental assessment process for the Project will continue under the requirements of Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, and the BC Environmental Assessment Office will continue to conduct the substituted environmental assessment process.
The Project is in the pre-application stage of the environmental assessment process. The purpose of the pre-application stage is to establish the scope and the terms of reference for the BC Environmental Assessment Office process and to ensure that both the BC Environmental Assessment Office and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada have all the information they need to conduct a complete and thorough assessment of the Project. The pre-application phase provides input opportunities for Indigenous Nations, government agencies and the general public.
For more information on upcoming Project details or consultation and engagement opportunities, please visit the Environmental Assessment Office Project Website.
Environmental Assessment Office Project Website:
