Public comment deadline nears

The public comment period of the environmental assessment for the first phase of a program that would triple the capacity of the Deltaport container facility is ending in May.

The port of Vancouver is proposing to initially fill in 50 acres of tideflat to add a third berth to the existing Deltaport facility, the project currently under review. The project is anticipated to cost $272 million. As the second phase of the expansion they propose to add an independent 200-acre facility with three berths, at a cost of $750 million. Along with the increase in the port’s capacity at the Deltaport facility there will be an increase in road and rail serving the site.

The project application for environmental assessment is available online at www.portvancouver.com/container_expansion/deltaport, or at the Tsawwassen library. The environmental review process will examine environmental, coastal geomorphological, socio-economic, noise, light, traffic and other factors.

Comments from the public must be submitted by May 9 to Jan E. Hagen, Project Assessment Director, Environmental Assessment Office, P.O. Box 9426 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, B.C. V8W 9V1, Fax: 250/356-6448.