Deltaport Terminal 2 facts
The federal Deltaport Terminal 2 project is the classic elephant in the room: huge, ominous, and largely overlooked. Compared to the contentious $6-billion Enbridge pipeline across north-central B.C., what’s about to happen in Delta—and the environmental consequences of what’s about to happen—during the next decade has been seriously underreported. Here are the facts. The Terminal 2 expansion, along with its land-based supply chain, will:
- double the size of the Roberts Bank Superport by 2022
- create 4,500 jobs over the six-year course of construction
- quadruple the port’s container-handling capacity
- allow the doubling of Canadian trade with Asia
- require a $1.3-billion truck route linking Deltaport to North Surrey (under construction)
- require a $700-million train line following a similar route (now largely completed)
- require an intermodal/industrial park adjacent to the new port facility
- accelerate both the elimination of the George Massey Tunnel and the construction of a major replacement bridge over the Fraser River
- necessitate the spending of $500 million to study and mitigate environmental damage linked to Terminal 2.
What has not yet been calculated into the Terminal 2 equation is the cost to nature. More than five million birds—including 70,000 snow geese and millions of sandpipers—utilize the Fraser River estuary, probably the single most important migratory-bird habitat on North America’s west coast. With 80 percent of the delta’s marshes, foreshore eelgrass habitat, and natural riverbanks lost to diking, dredging, and development in the past century, the effect of further estuary degradation on Fraser salmon is unknown
With the loss of more than 500 hectares of Delta ALR land to development, adjacent agricultural land becomes more valuable—and more attractive to developers.
Comments
3 Comments
Debbie
Jan 18, 2013 at 7:50pm
With the revelation that much of the farmland in South Delta was being optioned by developers, we shouldn't be surprised at this elephant. What is more disturbing are the ongoing and phony "public consultation" meetings going on for Port expansion and the replacement of the Massey Tunnel. So are the environmental impact studies that are ongoing. These meetings are a waste of time and taxpayers money because the outcome is already decided. Nothing will stop this from happening except public outrage and the kind of article found here. I sincerely hope that this will be the beginning of both. Please be outraged at the loss of this important estuary, the building of warehouses (logistics in port speak) on good and ever shrinking farmland, the loss of even more salmon and the selling out of Canada's ability to manage its environment. All this so Canadians and Americans can by more stuff from China. If thus be so, Prince Rupert as a seaport or Ashcroft as an inland port makes more sense. They want the business and the have people who would gladly work there. Oh, and the construction jobs so highly touted, as in so many major projects, employ people who do not live where they work. The money goes to other Provinces or other Countries. After that,employment drops off dramatically. Thank you for sounding the alarm. Noe people, its up to you
mother nature provides fundamental elements of life on earth
Jan 22, 2013 at 1:15am
Man's fundamentally fatal error lies in his miscalculation and assumption that the earth will continue to provide sanctuary to his greed driven addiction and selfish self-centered short term thinking by prevailing to take more natural resources without consideration, replacement or compensation to mother nature. Man exists and survives because of mother nature's life giving environment around the globe. Without fresh air, water, land and sea, all creatures great and small, including man, would cease to be. Man is only part of the environment; not the entire environment. Man must learn to live in harmony with nature and respect life on earth. All that combined "brain power" proposing and making these decisions about certain progress of man-made projects, have achieved no intelligence here, but instead have produced certainty of suicide.
Jake
Jun 16, 2013 at 9:54pm
I hope all you people that oppose the port do not eat, wear,drive or use any products made in Asia !!!