Editor:
Few Sunshine Coast residents are aware of a new threat to our health and environment. Lafarge has applied to the province to significantly increase the trans-shipment of coal from its Texada Island facilities. The push to expand coal trans-shipment comes from U.S. coal mines.
Coastal communities and residents in Oregon and Washington oppose the trans-shipment, so now they want to ship their dirty coal from Canadian ports, hoping we will be more malleable.
Their plan is to ship the dusty thermal coal in uncovered rail cars from the U.S. to Surrey, where it will be loaded onto uncovered barges. The barges will be towed to Texada,past our homes and beaches, and held in uncovered stockpiles awaiting deep-sea freighters shipping out via the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
There are substantive health and environmental risks when shipping coal in open containers with aerobic suction and wind dispersing a coal dust plume as it moves and as it awaits shipping. Despite these risks, the shippers say it is too expensive to cover the rail cars and barges. They hope Canadians will accept the risks to aid their bottom lines.
The burning of the coal will also increase carbon emissions, thus accelerating global warming and increasing sea levels on our coast.
Surrey citizens are opposed to trans-shipping coal. Their mayor expressed concerns over safety issues. Opposition to the proposal is growing on Texada Island.
To date a single information-only meeting was held by Lafarge last week on Texada Island. This is not good enough.
The Alliance 4 Democracy is asking for public hearings on the Coast to allow our citizens input into this questionable proposal. We have a right to speak.
Jef Keighley, Alliance 4 DemocracySunshine Coast
