The second shoe has dropped on the Fraser Surrey Docks coal port proposal: the Texada Island transfer terminal. These plans are connected, because without a terminal on Texada to transfer coal from barges to ocean going vessels, plans for a new coal port in Surrey make no sense.
The proponent quietly slipped in its permit application awhile back and from our perspective, it's awful: a half-hearted storm water management plan, and vague references to managing air borne coal dust. All 8 million tonnes/year of coal shipped from Fraser Surrey Docks in open barges will be dumped into piles on Texada, then loaded into ships to be sent to Asia. This is an enormous industrial proposal and it needs as much scrutiny as the proposed Surrey coal port.
Texada and the northern Strait deserve better. Fortunately, the Port Authority has no say in this proposal — it's all up to the provincial government. And that's good, because unlike the Port, the province is supposed to work for the people.
However, the DEADLINE for public comments is July 19th — THIS FRIDAY.
Can you take a minute to write to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas asking them to reject this application as an inadequate plan for managing coal dust releases into the air and water? SouthwestMinesDivision@gov.bc.ca
For more information, you can read the application and a detailed critique of these plans forwarded from Lasqueti and Texada residents, both on our web site. Here is a quick summary of some key flaws in the application, which would increase coal handling on Texada 20 fold over current levels:
- the storm water plan is only designed to accommodate runoff from a 1 in 5 year rainfall event. After that, coal dust laden overflow runs into an estuary. Extreme weather events are becoming more common with climate change, making overflow events more likely.
- there are no detailed plans for managing air borne coal dust releases from barges or from coal piles on site.
- there is no discussion of the use of freshwater (how much, and from where) to water coal piles to control dust.
- there is no discussion of monitoring or mitigating impacts to the environment, establishing baseline levels of existing contamination, modelling the dispersion of air borne dust, etc.
This is a surprisingly weak link in the overall plan to export more US coal out of Metro Vancouver. If we work fast, we may be able to avoid another mess like the one recently uncovered at Ridley Coal Port in Prince Rupert. If the province listens to our concerns and rejects this application, it will be a major setback for plans to export coal from Fraser Surrey Docks.
Let's make sure that our provincial government stands up for our region and our future.
Kevin and Donald for
Voters Taking Action on Climate Change
PS — check out the great Dan Murphy cartoon on this issue on our Facebook page or on our website.
http://vtacc.org/
@ClimateVoters
http://www.facebook.com/VotersTakingActionOnClimateChange