Hello everybody,
The battle is raging against the 4 to 8 million tonnes of Wyoming coal proposed to be moved through Fraser-Surrey Docks (FSD) and Texada Island.
After 12 months of delaying and blocking this project, we have stopped the entire 2 million tonnes of coal (320 barge loads) that was slated to leave FSD on be dumped on Texada during 2013.
Now, we are reaching a critical point. Your voice is needed!
Almost every municipality and city in the Lower Mainland, as well as the Sunshine Coast Regional District and the Islands Trust has voted against this proposal. Unfortunately, none of these government's have any jurisdiction over the actions of the Federal government-appointed Port of Metro Vancouver who is driving this proposal forward.
The Port of Metro Vancouver has decided to do some window-dressing so that they can say that they have addressed public concerns, and approve this proposal. One of these changes required that Fraser Surrey Docks do an sham "environmental assessment". Although this is a fat document, much of the information is inaccurate, ridiculously outdated, or totally missing. For example, their assessment of health impacts relies on a hand-picked study from 1986. And the "EIA" states in its opening that it will address impacts all the way until the coal is unloaded at Texada. But the only issues mentioned is the possibility of barge collisions during times of low visibility (simply addressed by looking at the radar). They have no other concerns related to the transport of 4 to 8 million tonnes of coal annually up the Georgia Strait.
There is no mention of coal dust control on the barges if rising winds start blowing dust off the open barges. There is absolutely no mention of coal dust impacts on marine life or coastal residents. Certainly there is no mention of coal dust control during unloading or while stockpiled at Texada which is beyond their area of concern.
The Port of Metro Vancouver gave us all 30 days to respond to this sham EIA, after which they will make a "decision" about this project. That 30 period runs out on December 17. The Port has refused to release the comments made by the public or other agencies, despite the fact that public access to such comments is a cornerstone of a real Environmental Impact Assessment. So...
We have made our own publicly-accessible comment site. With 8 days to go, we need your comments. If you don't raise your voice on this, the Port will be able to state again that you must be part of the "silent majority who supports this project." Can we get 2000 comments in the next 24 hours? So far we are over 1700. Please go to http://realporthearings.org/ to see the comments of other concerned individuals and organizations and and add your comment! We need you to add your voice. Your comment will simultaneously be sent to the Port of Metro Vancouver and to the provincial government.
Don't delay! And please forward this call for action to anyone, anywhere, young or old who would want to add their name.
We are also pushing on other fronts,and researching other strategies to oppose this. But right now, your voice is needed on this one.
Thanks,
Donald Gordon
Hi everybody,
For some reason, some people had a problem with that link.
So here is it again.
Thanks for raising your voice!
Donald Gordon
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