Port authority OKs controversial coal-shipping facility in Metro Vancouver

A man walks between transport trucks waiting to deliver cargo containers at Port Metro Vancouver's Center container facility in Vancouver, on Friday, May 10, 2013. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

VANCOUVER -- Metro Vancouver's port authority has approved construction of a controversial coal-shipping facility in a major marine terminal.

Fraser Surrey Docks has been given a permit by Port Metro Vancouver to build the facility along the Fraser River that will handle four million metric tonnes of coal each year.

Environmentalists, many residents and the region's medical health officers have expressed concerns about the effect on air quality and potential harm to the surrounding environment.

Peter Xotta, of Port Metro Vancouver, says the decision was not taken lightly but a comprehensive review found there were no unacceptable risks from the development.

Fraser Surrey Docks hired SNC Lavalin to review the proposal, and the resulting report concluded there would be no significant adverse effects to the environment or people's health.

The proposed facility would transfer coal from rail cars to barges, which would then carry the coal to nearby Texada Island to be shipped to Asia.