On January 13, Burnaby council voted unanimously to oppose expansion of coal exports through Fraser Surrey Docks and Neptune Terminals. Mayor Derek Corrigan spoke passionately about the corrupt business practices of SNC Lavalin, the heavy handedness of the Federal government and the sorry state of communities rights vs multinational corporations. RealPortHearings.org was created to: 1) become a transparent knowledge base showing opposition to the Port's proposal from community groups, scientists, local and regional governments, school boards, and many others 2) become a matter of record for public comments on the Port's flawed EIA The Port's deadline has passed but we are not stopping. If a real EIA is ever endorsed by all of these groups, it will take months of public comments to even determine the scope of the EIA. All comments on this site, are being collected for that process if it ever comes to that. We encourage you to send a message to the Port Authority to tell them what you think of their assessment and how you would like to see it improved. Go the website shown above to send a message to the members of the Project Review Committee. Your message will be automatically copied to key decision makers at the provincial and federal level and we'll keep our regional government and health authorities updated on your comments. And finally, we'll post your message here to create a public record of our concerns. What we are asking for in a new EIA: We think that the Port Authority's assessment of the risks of coal export expansion is fundamentally flawed and should be scrapped. They need to start over. We call on the Port to put a moratorium on coal export expansion and commit to working with key stakeholders to conduct proper health and environmental impact assessments. In our view, these new assessments must include the following features: -they must involve key stakeholders like our Health Authorities from the start, including determining the scope and terms of reference; -they must include an assessment of the risks of the proposed coal export expansion at Neptune Terminals; -they must consider all local impacts from the time the coal enters our region by rail to -the time it enters international waters by ocean going vessel; -they must consider climate change impacts of the end use of that coal; -they must be open and transparent and incorporate public hearings. If the port cannot or will not properly assess the potential impacts of coal exports, it should deny the Fraser Surrey Docks permit and suspend any further expansion of coal exports. What's Wrong With the Port's EIA? Problems with the scope and terms of the announced EIA There were some fundamental flaws in the Port's announced assessment of the risks of coal export expansion, including the failure to involve key stakeholders in planning the scope of the assessment, an implausibly short time frame for its completion and a lack of transparency in the study terms of reference. Experts in the field of impact assessment raised all of these concerns and more with the Port in an open letter sent shortly after the study was announced. The Port did not respond to their concerns. Our Health Authorities also raised concerns about the flaws in the assessment process in a letter sent to the Port in September. The Port Authority brushed off our Health Authoritys' concerns in a reply sent in October. We're forced to conclude that the Port's September announcement of an Environmental Impact Assessment was more of a public performance than a sincere proposal to review the risks of coal export expansion.

• published: 16 Jan 2014
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