New Westminster against coal expansion
Posted May 28, 2013 12:59 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS1130) – Another Lower Mainland city has come out against coal expansion plans.
New Westminster is voicing its opposition to a plan to build a nearby terminal.
Fraser Surrey Docks argues its future is in jeopardy without the expansion. But New Westminster Councillor Chuck Puchmayr says people have all kinds of concerns about it.
“Coal dust has been identified as a real concern. The potential of fire. It is a very flammable substance. It’s coal that actually has to have a fire retardant applied to it to keep it stable,” he argues.
Puchmayr also wonders where expansion would lead the region. “Once you start, even with a smaller scale of export of coal in that facility, it could manifest into an expansion to such a degree that we merely become a coal exporter for American thermal coal.”
The City has also organized a townhall meeting for Thursday, saying it’s taking it upon itself since Fraser Surrey Docks declined to organize one in New Westminster.
