Delta council got an earful Monday from opponents of the controversial Fraser Surrey Docks coal handling application.
Several dozen showed up to hear civic politicians debate a motion calling for a full health and environmental assessment, but they were not pleased with the outcome.
Fraser Surrey Docks recently commissioned its own environmental study that concluded its proposal is "not likely to cause significant adverse effects" on the environment or human health. Port Metro Vancouver's 30-day public comment period on that assessment ends Dec. 17.
Opponents want the port authority to consider the full health and environmental impacts of transporting coal by rail through the region, however, port CEO Robin Silvester told the Vancouver Board of Trade last week the required assessment has now been done.
Several communities, including Surrey, have come out in opposition to the proposed coal terminal until a comprehensive assessment is completed, finding the recently released report unsatisfactory.
Until now Delta has expressed concerns but wanted more information about the proposal, well below the level of opposition expressed elsewhere.
That appeared to have changed earlier this month when Coun. Bruce McDonald put forward a motion requesting an independent health impact assessment be conducted on existing and proposed coal handling facilities.
His motion was debated this week but Mayor Lois Jackson, much to the chagrin of many in the audience, asked for it to be deferred for another week until a staff report is also available.
She said the motion and issue in general were of such significance that council needed as much information as possible to make an informed decision.
"We are all, every one of us, very, very concerned about what's happening, and to infer that we're not is not appropriate. I need some information from our staff," she said.
Noting he didn't want to see his motion defeated, McDonald agreed to defer for another week.
Coun. Jeannie Kanakos voted against deferring, saying Delta staff couldn't possibly have more knowledge on potential health impacts than the chief medical health officers of the regional health authorities, who have also demanded a comprehensive assessment.
Coun. Sylvia Bishop agreed, saying the motion speaks to council's ability to represent the concerns of its residents regarding the health impacts.
Clearly displeased by the delay, despite Jackson saying an even better motion could end up being crafted, many in the audience shouted at council, saying it wasn't sticking up for Delta.
Longtime resident Doug Massey was one of those in the audience, giving McDonald, in particular, an earful before storming out. He told the Optimist afterward he couldn't understand why Delta isn't following the lead of other communities that have already voiced their opposition to "dirty coal" being transported from the U.S.
"There's something wrong here that they aren't supporting all the municipalities. I'm not opposed to Westshore Terminals (in South Delta), they're doing a fine job, but come on, we don't need extra dirty coal and ruining our own community and our health. The sad part of it is we have a federal government that has given all the powers away."
