ARCHIVE

Vancouver coal port faces more opponents

OPPOSITION to coal shipping expansion developments in Vancouver has grown to include health care ...

Justin Niessner
Vancouver coal port faces more opponents

A number of British Columbia health organizations, including the BC Lung Association, the Public Health Association of BC and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, last week objected to coal terminal works at the facility through a letter to the port authority.

The groups cited the dangers of increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with coal transport in residential areas.

Port Metro Vancouver, which is overseeing the approval process for the proposed infrastructure expansions, answered that its only authority was over the safe transport of goods, not the environmental footprint of coal in general.

“Port Metro Vancouver recognizes that some citizens or groups may have concerns about the types of commodities that are traded through the port,” PMV president and chief executive Robin Silvester said in a formal response.

“This dialogue should take place between the people of Canada and senior levels of government, as it falls outside the scope of Port Metro Vancouver’s jurisdiction.”

Local media has reported frustration on both sides of the issue as protestors organize demonstrations at the port authority’s head offices and port representatives say they’re being unfairly targeted.

“These expansions will make [PMV] the biggest exporter of coal in North America,” protest organizer Kevin Washbrook said in the Vancouver Sun.

“This comes at a time when international climate talks are failing, scientists are saying that greenhouse gas emissions are rising faster than ever and that we are running out of time to deal with this problem.

“You can’t reconcile exporting more and more fossil fuels with the message that we need to burn less fossil fuels.”

The port, however, contends that macro-environmental concerns are out of its hands and it has complied with all the appropriate consultation and community notification procedures.

PMV said it distributed 3200 notification letters for the expansion project at Fraser Surrey Docks and 1000 brochures for the Neptune Terminals project.

Work at Fraser Surrey would have potential to increase volumes up to 8 million tons per annum of coal over the long term.

Neptune proposes to increase the terminal’s coal handling capacity to 18Mtpa through one additional train per day and one additional ship per week.

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production