Editor:
Re: Coal project will bring fugitive dust to area, letter to the editor, March 1
This letter contains some false assertions that need to be corrected.
Fraser Surrey Docks has been operating as a private deep-sea terminal for 50 years in this community, and was never the Fraser River Port Authority as the letter writer states. The authority was a completely different entity and is now part of Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which is more commonly known as Port Metro Vancouver. Port Metro Vancouver is our landlord and they regulate the activities of terminals such as ours.
Fraser Surrey Docks has a proven track record of safety and quality handling. The same care and safety that we apply to the shipping of other products at our terminal will be applied to shipping coal.
Our coal handling facilities will be built within our existing terminal footprint, and we are committed to using the best available dust suppression technology for our project. Coal will be unloaded from railcars within a fully enclosed receiving area and transferred directly onto barges via a covered conveyor system to eliminate dust.
Unlike the other coal terminals in the region, no product would be stored on site. In addition, railcars supplying our terminal will be profiled and sprayed with a protective coating to help ensure no product loss en route.
The use of coal as an energy source remains crucial to the economies of many developed and developing countries. Climate change is a concern for all of us, but the reality is 40 per cent of the world's population still relies on coal for energy.
Coal allows a growing world population to access electricity, which is shown to greatly improve the quality of life both economically and health-wise. Across the world, 1.3 billion people are without access to electricity. It is predicted that around one billion people will still be living without electricity by 2035. Without coal as part of the energy mix, millions of people will needlessly remain in poverty.
Metro Vancouver is a port city - we import and export goods from around the world, including the United States and Asia. We see this project as an exciting opportunity that will strengthen Fraser Surrey Docks' role as a key link in Canada's Pacific Gateway and as an important contributor to our local and provincial economy.
Jeff Scott President and CEO Fraser Surrey Docks LP
