Dear Editor:
We await the decision by Port Metro Vancouver on the application by Fraser Surrey Docks to install a coal transfer station on the Fraser River.
Let it be made very, very clear to the uninformed, this is not Canadian coal, not even Canadian crews or even Canadian trains which would transport the coal from Wyoming right up to Fraser Surrey Docks.
This would be detrimental to our B.C. environment and way of life in a number of ways.
There has been no independent, comprehensive health impact assessment as called for by two chief medical health officers to ascertain the effects of fugitive coal dust and diesel exhaust fumes.
The beachfront communities of White Rock and Crescent Beach would be seriously impacted by the increased rail traffic and obstruction of access to not only the beach but also residential areas.
If approved, the coal would be loaded on open barges travelling down the Fraser, through the Gulf Islands to Texada Island where it would be piled exposed to the elements awaiting shipment to China.
There would be no extra jobs on the barges as they already transport limestone from Texada to the Lafarge dock on the Fraser.
Considering the various adverse effects of this proposition, it begs the question - are 25 jobs at Fraser Surrey Docks worth it?
If approved, one can only imagine Warren Buffett and the American coal barons salivating and saying, "there, we knew even though our ports on the West Coast refused to ship our thermal coal, we knew those laid-back Canadians would go for it."
David Gibbs, Surrey
