by Vel Anderson Coal barged and dumped on beautiful Texada Island has changed our plan of purchasing property on the island. How many other potential purchasers will now be turned off. Will the property values decrease? I wonder how many tourists will want to visit Texada should this proposal become a reality.
We really hope the residents of Texada Island, Powell River and Sunshine Coast, will take a firm stand against such a proposal. Can you imagine the black coal dust blowing off the barges as they travel along our coastline; black dust drifting over Powell River, Texada Island and the Sunshine Coast? Will the polluted coal dust air affect your health, your children’s health and your pets’ health? Texada stickleback may be the rarest and most endangered fish in the world, so how will coal dust affect this fish plus the whole environment of the island?
How much coal dust particle spillage will take place from loading and unloading the coal? At the West Coast’s largest coal dock, Westshore Terminal, an unforeseen 45 kilometres per hour wind gust kicked up a flurry of coal that left a black haze in the air on April 12 of this year. Residents in Point Roberts, Washington State, complained that a black film is constantly settling on their homes and vehicles.
If water is used to keep dust down, what happens to this polluted water? Will groundwater be polluted from chemicals leaching from the coal? How will the runoff be handled during our many rainy months? Will polluted water run out of the barges and into the ocean?
What about accidents? On December 7, tonnes of coal were dumped in the Strait of Georgia. An article published by Vancouver Sun is available online by searching “Ship crashes into dock.” The article states how coal dust is harmful to marine life, salmon, shorebirds and aquatic organisms that live on the mudflats.
Powell River Regional District director Dave Murphy is ill-informed regarding concerns surrounding coal. No matter where coal is burned, it is a dirty form of energy and the leading contributor to climate change. Readers can visit online to find out more about coal’s influence on climate change.
Why are the Americans not shipping their coal from their own ports? Readers can see what our southern neighbours say by searching online: “Stop coal exports through the gorge.”
Once an accident happens, no amount of money and cleanup can restore the area to what was there originally. All elected officials must be aware that land and water pollution at coal export harbours is both inevitable and potentially irreversible. Tourism for Texada Island would certainly create more jobs and be a clean and healthy dollar. Officials should therefore look to cleaner proposals for creating jobs.
Vel Anderson is a taxpayer living in Gibsons, BC.
