The possibility that coal barges will soon be plying the south arm of the Fraser River has raised environmental concerns for the waterway and for Richmond residents.

"It's right up there at the top of the list of incredibly bad projects for the Fraser River estuary," said Richmond Coun. Harold Steves.

"It's the same as having Panamex tankers shipping jet fuel down the river. Except in this case, we're going to accept coal from the States, which is being rejected by American citizens for shipping out of their communities, and we're looking to ship it out of Canada because our environmental laws are so lax that we're ripe for the picking."

Surrey Fraser Docks submitted a project permit application last summer to Port Metro Vancouver to develop a coal transfer facility just off the southeastern tip of Annacis Island that would initially handle up to four million metric tonnes annually from a massive thermal coal deposit in Montana and Wyoming called the Powder River Basin.

The proposal is to initially ship coal down the river in 86-metre by 22-metre barges roughly once a day - 320 trips - during the first year. In years two to five, the number of trips down the river is planned to double to 640. Year six would see it double again to 1,280 trips and move eight million tonnes of coal. Each trip would be made by one barge pulled by a tug.

Once the barges reach the Sand Heads area off Steveston Harbour, just past the mouth of the Fraser River, they will be tied to a second barge to complete the trip in tandem to Texada Island. A storage and distribution facility there would load the coal onto deep-sea vessels bound for Asian markets.

The weight of each barge, at 85 per cent of their maximum, is roughly equivalent to 3,746 average-sized cars. Steves said one of his main concerns is the health of those along the proposed route due to coal dust being transported, as well as the global environmental impact of burning coal.

Former federal fishery biologist and aquatic ecologist Otto Langer said his overarching concerns focus on the future nature of the Fraser River.

"Basically, what do we want the lower Fraser River for," he said. "Do we want to make it into a Rotterdam-type port, which is where Port Metro Vancouver seems to want to go with shipping jet fuel, the Roberts Bank expansion, and now coal."

Rotterdam is Europe's largest port and was the world's busiest until 2002, when it was eclipsed by Shanghai. Langer is also fearful of environmental damage to wildlife.

Fraser Surrey Docks is a multi-purpose terminal moving containers, steel, agricultural products and special equipment, said Jim Crandles, the port authority's director of planning and development. No new berths are required at the site and no storage of coal is expected, except for emergency purposes, Crandles added.

Part of its project review process includes an environmental review component.

Issues of noise, dust and other environmental effects like a spill in the marine environment are all part of the review process "and an important part of this one," Crandles said.

COAL CONTROVERSY ON THE FRASER

1 Surrey Fraser Docks proposes a coal transfer facility just off the southeast-ern tip of Annacis Island.

2 The proposal is to initially ship thermal coal down the south arm of the Fraser River in barges, roughly once a day - 320 trips - during the first year. Each trip would be made by one barge pulled by a tug. In years 2 to 5, the number of trips down the river is planned to double to 640. Year 6 would see it double again 91 to 1,280 trips, moving eight million tonnes of coal.

3 Once the barges reach the Sand Heads area off Steveston Harbour, just beyond the mouth of the Fraser, they will be tied to a second barge to complete the trip in tandem to Texada Island, where a storage and distribution facility would load the coal onto deepsea vessels bound for Asia.