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December 16, 2005: Port plan review draws large crowd

B.C.

Port plan review draws large crowd

 

By Daniel Pi

South Delta Leader

dpi@southdeltaleader.com

Dec 16 2005

A constant stream of residents visited an open house Tuesday night at the Coast Tsawwassen Inn to find out more about the environmental review of the Vancouver Port Authority's plans to add a third berth to its container terminal at Deltaport.

Hosted by the port authority and B.C's Environmental Assessment Office (EAO), the meeting allowed residents to speak one-on-one with the experts involved with four reports going to the EAO for review.

The meeting also begins a month-long public comment period with a deadline that was recently extended from Jan. 16 to Jan. 25.

While some came expecting a loud protest, or presentations from the port authority, VPA director of planning and development Patrick McLaughlin said the meeting was for anyone interested in the reports to come have a look, talk to the experts, and then decide if they want to submit a comment before the deadline.

The reports included an adaptive management strategy for monitoring the ecosystem between Deltaport Way and ferry causeway; an air quality assessment; habitat compensation plan; and a cumulative effects assessment. They are available online at www.eao.gov.bc.ca.After speaking with some of the experts, Pamela Roberts was a little skeptical of the slant of the review."I just wonder how much it's biased to one side," Roberts said. "They (EAO) always seem to be with the port authority."Her sister, Jennifer Roberts said there shouldn't be any port expansion until a new truck-oriented route like the South Fraser Perimeter Road is completed. "I don't think they should do anything until the infrastructure is there," she said.The port authority has proposed spending $3 million for some minor improvements to Highway 17, such as extending the high occupancy vehicle(HOV) lane south of the Highway 17/10 intersection.While many at the meeting were opposed to the project, at least two people saw the expansion as a positive for the community.Ruth Adams, a Tsawwassen First Nation member, and Carol Vignale both said they support the expansion because of the promises and compromises, such as transportation and environmental improvements, the port authority has made to gain the community's support."These people (the port) are willing and able to be helpful in the community," Adams said.Vignale added that the criticisms of the port's plans by the group APE (Against Port Expansion at Roberts Bank) has been helpful, forcing the port to be more active in seeking public support."It's good that people in our community are concerned," Vignale said.Local politicians like Delta-Richmond East MP John Cummins, Delta South MLA Val Roddick and Delta councillors Krista Engelland and Scott Hamilton were also at the meeting.Cummins said there has to be clear answers to questions on the project's impact to the environment, such as to the fisheries and to air quality, and also transportation infrastructure.Cummins said concern for the impact on marine life around the expansion should also trigger a federal environmental assessment."All of Canada benefits with with port, but it's the individual communities that pay the price," he said.The studies explained Tuesday night were in response to public response to the first round of environmental review held earlier this year. Some findings raised the eyebrows of residents, such as the air quality projections for 2011. One scenario suggested that air quality could actually improve because the trend in world shipping is towards larger ships-the logic being fewer ships carrying more containers would mean less exhaust."They actually said there'd be better air quality with the project than without it," said a resident, adding that the air quality issue is further muddied because the closest active air quality monitoring station is in Richmond.Corporation of Delta chief administrative officer George Harvie was also in attendance Tuesday, and said the corporation is considering facilitating a public forum on the port's plans in January at the South Delta Recreation Centre. With the Christmas season, the timing of the public comment period has been criticized, and the municipality has asked the port authority for another open house-a request which Harvie said has been declined. Patrick McLaughlin of the port authority said that decision is in the EAO's hands .Delta staff will present its own assessment of the four documents under review at the Jan. 9 Delta Council meeting, Harvie added."We have a number of our top planners and environmental specialists working on this." http://www.southdeltaleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=48&cat=23&id=556

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Topic(s): Fist Nations News, Healthy Communities News, Ocean News, Transportation News

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