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Three coal cars spill into Burnaby creek

Three coal cars have overturned in the blue community of Burnaby polluting Silver Creek.

The Canadian Press reports, “A Canadian Pacific Railway train operated by a CN Rail crew derailed in Burnaby, B.C., sending seven cars off the tracks and spilling coal into a creek (Silver Creek) that feeds into a lake (Burnaby Lake). Emily Hamer, a spokeswoman for CN, said she could not say how much of the coal went into the water near Burnaby Lake. …CP Rail spokesman Ed Greenberg said the metallurgical coal, used in steelmaking, was destined for Neptune Bulk Terminals in North Vancouver and was from mines in B.C.’s Kootenay region.”

“Kevin Washbrook, spokesman for a group called Voters Taking Action on Climate Change, said he saw powdered coal leaching into the creek from two overturned cars. The creek had turned black and nearby signage indicated it’s a sensitive fish habitat, he said.”

The Vancouver Sun adds, “Staff Sgt. Wayne Baier with Burnaby RCMP said some of the coal has leached into a nearby creek. Officials from Transport Canada and the Ministry of Environment are investigating. …At the creek, there is a sign posted noting that the waterway is considered a sensitive fish and wildlife habitat, and that the area is protected by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.”

In British Columbia there is increasing concern about coal mining and coal exports.

“Port Metro Vancouver already approved last year the $200-million expansion of Neptune Bulk Terminals coal-handling facility (the destination of the train cars that derailed) in North Vancouver.”

“At issue now is the proposed $15-million Fraser Surrey Docks coal-handling facility, which would take coal from Wyoming for export overseas. Critics are concerned over the health effects of coal dust and locomotive diesel emissions, as well as the implications of increased coal exports on global warming. Health authorities in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver have weighed in, calling for a comprehensive health-effects assessment of the Surrey project. Ken Hall, professor emeritus with the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of B.C., says submerged coal dust could upset the balance of an aquaculture, and that water fowl could be indirectly affected if they coal-contaminated marine life.”

Rising Tide has stated, “If the project is approved, Vancouver would become the biggest coal exporter in North America, and the associated carbon emissions would be greater than BC’s current total annual carbon output.”

Burnaby News Leader notes, “‘Most of us should be concerned the federal government isn’t taking an active concern about the safety of its citizens’, said Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan. ‘It’s very frustrating for us at the local level to try to cope with this. People have to get angry.’ He added the matter would be discussed at the next city council meeting on Monday.” And Burnaby Now adds, “Burnaby city Coun. Sav Dhaliwal, who lives just a couple of blocks from the site, expressed council’s prior concerns about rail shipments travelling through the city. …’Monday night council is going to consider another motion opposing the expansion of coal exports’, Dhaliwal said.”

Former Council of Canadians energy campaigner Maryam Adrangi has commented, “Combined coal exports from the Fraser Surrey Docks and the recently approved Neptune Terminal would reach 14 million metric tonnes per year. That means three new coal trains making round-trips per day through Metro Vancouver on top of the six that already come through the region.”

She added, “There are currently ten operating coal mines in British Columbia and more proposals are emerging, including one filed by Fortune Minerals in the Sacred Headwaters in northwestern B.C. The mine would impact the traditional territory of the Tahltan First Nation, which contains the origin of three major salmon rivers: the Skeena, Nass, and Stikine. But increases in coal exports through the Lower Mainland are largely for U.S. thermal coal from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, suggesting that B.C. is the new destination for coal that Oregon and Washington are successfully blocking.”

At the same time, US officials have raised concerns about coal mining in the Kootenay region, the source of the coal for the train cars that derailed. In February 2013, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator wrote then-Environment minister Peter Kent suggesting the US could take Canada to the International Joint Commission over plans to expand coal production in the region near the Montana border. There is concern that the resulting pollution in B.C.’s Elk and Fording rivers would also affect two bodies of water shared by B.C. and Montana – Lake Koocanusa and the Kootenay (Kootenai) River. US Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester have argued coal mining there could be a violation of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty.

Further reading
Opposition growing to Fraser Surrey Docks coal terminal expansion
Council of Canadians speaks against coal mines Line Creek coal mine threatens Elk River and Lake Koocanusa