Fraser Surrey Docks is asking the public and stakeholders for feedback to its latest plans to ship thermal coal from the US to Asia via the Lower Mainland.
Missing in that route is the previous proposal to ship the coal on open barges up to Texada Island, via the Sabine Channel, store the coal at Lafarge Canada’s Texada Quarrying Ltd. stockpile area and then load it onto deep sea vessels for the passage to Asia.
Fraser Surrey Docks has decided it can cut costs by avoiding the Texada route. Instead it plans to load ocean-going ships at the Surrey dock, with the thermal coal delivered by rail from the US, to provide a more direct transfer coal facility.
To do this, FSD requires permission from Port Metro Vancouver to amend its previously authorized permit (number 2012 - 072). The volume of coal being shipped through FSD, four million metric tonnes per year, would not change, but the amendment would reduce the number of barges required.
More information about the plans can be found on FSD’s website, and feedback is invited on the proposal until Tuesday, May 19, online.
The proposed change of plans has provoked various responses from different interest groups. Voters Taking Action on Climate Change (VTACC) has been very vocal in its opposition to the original plan. With the proposed change, VTACC remains cautious in declaring a victory.
“We never had any confidence that FSD or the Port had a solid plan for monitoring or managing coal dust and coal waste water losses from barges in the Strait of Georgia and the Fraser, or for safely storing loaded barges of self combusting coal in Metro Vancouver municipalities,” said Kevin Washbrook, director of VTACC in a press release. “These changes are a potential victory for those concerned about the impacts this project would have had on the Fraser and the Strait of Georgia. However, the proposed changes raise a whole new set of questions. The plans have shifted, from a coal transfer facility to a full-on coal port on the Fraser, a short distance from homes and across the river from downtown New Westminster.”
Fraser Surrey Docks has a court date in June “to challenge Metro Vancouver’s authority to regulate air quality in the region,” he added. FSD is disputing the air quality ticket on the basis that Metro Vancouver's regulations don't apply as FSD is located on federal land. "It's a potentially siginificant challenge of provincially delegated powers if FSD wins," said Washbrook.
VTACC's action continues as it and other groups intend to take the Port Authority to court over the port's approval of the Surrey coal port.
There are various speculations over why FSD is proposing the change to its permit. One thought is related to the provincial government’s planned removal of the George Massey Tunnel and construction of the Massey Bridge, expected to begin in 2017. If the tunnel were removed, the depth of water would allow for deeper draft vessels to move further up the Fraser River.
Andre Balfe is general manager for Texada Quarrying Ltd. It is his facility that may not see the planned influx of coal for which it received permission to expand its storage capacity.
“Since we started this project, we have always been a short-term option,” he said. “With the Massey Bridge announcement, circumstances have changed...FSD is getting prepared for new infrastructure to allow ships to load at their facility. We continue to have a trans-loading facility which handles a number of different commodities and are always exploring business opportunities to use our trans-loading facility.”
When the original FSD plan was announced, it created concerned reaction from community members up and down the Sunshine Coast and on Texada and Lasqueti islands. One of those members was CaroleAnn Leishman, who in November 2014 took her seat as part of City of Powell River Council. The Peak asked for her feedback to FSD’s planned change.
“This is a welcome announcement for Texada Island and Lasqueti Island residents and anyone in the Strait of Georgia who would be adversely affected by the shipping of coal on open barges through the region and past three Provincial Parks,” she replied. “There were too many risks to their plan and too many unanswered questions. The most baffling part of the entire process has been how no government ministry, provincially or federally, would take responsibility for the leg of the journey between Fraser Surrey Docks and Texada Island. Every minister and department would re-direct you to another department who would re-direct you to someone else, and so on. It lacked any oversight completely.”
Just like VTACC, Leishman is cautious in being excited about the announcement. Her view is of the grander picture and the impact of burning coal on the environment. “I am relieved at the suggestion that they are taking [the Texada route] off the table but it doesn’t deal with the heart of the problem that we should not be shipping thermal coal from the US via open rail cars to BC to ship to China to burn for energy worsening China’s air quality even more and increasing greenhouse gas emissions globally. We need to shift gears completely away from coal as a fuel.”
