DELTA — The Corporation of Delta is forming an independent committee to look into the Fraser Surrey Docks coal terminal proposal, despite the fact that the port authority has not acknowledged the committee.
In December, Delta council decided not to support Fraser Surrey Docks' proposal for a new coal terminal on its existing site until an independent committee could be formed to look into concerns. At the time, the municipality asked Port Metro Vancouver to delay considering the proposal until the committee had made its recommendations.
Fraser Surrey Docks wants to develop part of its 63-hectare site on the south side of the Fraser River to transfer coal brought in by rail from Wyoming. It would be loaded directly onto barges and towed by tug to Texada Island, where it would be transferred into storage to wait for oceangoing freighters.
Opposition to the proposal has been growing across the Lower Mainland.
A number of local governments, including Surrey and White Rock, have also spoken out against the proposal. Delta has invited several different local governments and agencies to join the independent interagency committee, including Health Canada, Environment Canada, the provincial ministries of health and environment, Metro Vancouver, Surrey and White Rock. So far, White Rock and Metro Vancouver have formally agreed to join the committee.