Air quality matters – don't you agree?
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- Published on Tuesday, 15 July 2014 17:20
- Written by editor
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Air quality matters – don't you agree?
Hi PAOV,
Time for an update on the battle to keep dirty U.S. coal out of Surrey!
It’s been a while since I wrote to you about the Fraser Surrey Docks (FSD) Coal Transfer Facility proposal, which is planned to transport millions of tonnes of thermal coal from the United States to foreign markets. After being exported overseas, this coal is to be burned for energy in Asia, which means FSD’s facility will contribute around 17 million tonnes of climate-changing carbon emissions to the atmosphere.
One of the challenges FSD faces in building its coal terminal is the fact that it must be granted an air permit to operate. Air quality is a hot topic these days, especially right now while the Metro Vancouver region is under an air quality advisory due to the heat and increased pollution.
The quality of our air – and protection of our health in general – is the job of BC’s Medical Health Officers. The BC government delegated the job of issuing air permits to officers at Metro Vancouver. FSD has claimed all along that they care about air quality, and want to go through the procedure of obtaining an air permit.
Well, that all changed last week. FSD is now bringing Metro Vancouver to court to challenge their jurisdiction over air quality. This particular case doesn’t involve coal, but if FSD is successful in court, the company may not have to seek out an air permit for its operations at all. If it is unsuccessful, then I’ll be contacting you in the future to let you know how you can have your say on the air permit.
This court challenge seeks to strip the region of important health measures and hand them over to an unelected board at Port Metro Vancouver. It gets worse when you consider that most of the members of that board are placed there by the businesses that operate at the port.
It is time for the BC government to step in and ensure that an air quality permit – one that covers the impact of climate change on our health – is required for the proposed Fraser Surrey Docks coal project.
Please click here and use our online letter-writing form to tell the BC government it can no longer remain silent on the FSD proposal. Tell the BC government your health and the health of your loved ones matters!
Thank you,
Eoin Madden | Climate Campaigner
Wilderness Committee
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Top photo: An example of a dust cloud during the loading of fine particulate materials at Fraser Surrey Docks. (via r0
