A community organization known as BASES (Bluewater Association for Safety, Environment, and Sustainability) is officially launching as Sarnia-Lambton's industry partner by dissolving three other groups to become the umbrella operation.
BASES General Manager Jason Vaillant said for decades, three separate entities have covered three pillars: worker safety, emergency preparedness, and environmental monitoring. Now, those three areas will be covered under one organization.
As of January 1, 2024, BASES will dissolve Sarnia-Lambton Environmental Association (SLEA), Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER), and Industrial Education Co-operative (IEC).
The consolidation process has been in the works for several months.
Vaillant also clarified that although BASES was created more than two years ago, it was technically created in name only.
"So now, we're actually doing the work to dissolve the current entities and bring them under BASES as a legal entity," he said. "BASES' brand has been out there but the work from a legal and administrative perspective hasn't happened and now is the time to do that and now is the time to reap the benefits of a one-window approach to industry."
A BASES launch event was held on Wednesday at the Sarnia Golf and Curling Club. Several community stakeholders, municipal officials, and industry partners attended the luncheon.
Suncor Sarnia Refinery Vice President Conor Poutney said the changes at BASES "go far beyond the name."
"The changes that are going to go in place on January 1, are about a streamlined vision, a mission, a better organizational structure to truly enable BASES to become Sarnia-Lambton's industry partner," Poutney said.
Poutney later told Sarnia News Today that the partnerships through BASES allow companies and municipalities to share resources and experiences to tackle the three pillars highlighted above.
Further details about BASES can be found on its website.