From Larry Colero to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada re: Comments on the GCT Deltaport Expansion - Berth Four Project

Like many others, I am opposed to the proposed GCT Deltaport Expansion - Berth Four Project, #81010.

With little apparent market need, this expansion would add to a plethora of other threats to the ecological stability of the Fraser River Estuary. Any assessment of a single project's environmental impacts is meaningless unless it is done within the context of a cumulative assessment of all impacts of industrialization of the Fraser Estuary, now and projected into the future.

Why is the legal requirement for a credible cumulative effects assessment being set aside? Until a meaningful long-term cumulative assessment is done, you can have no idea of the actual damage this additional expansion may cause. Furthermore, the damage is likely to be devastating, impossible to mitigate to any meaningful degree, and sadly irreversible over the long term. Within a short time frame, the ancient delicate balance of the Fraser River could easily be pushed past the brink of recovery.

Furthermore, this reckless proposal would violate Canada's national and international agreements to protect wetlands and habitat vital to migratory birds, fish and cetaceans. The fact that it is seriously being considered is an abrogation of responsibility, or a clearly misguided denial of it. While GCT's proposal for Berth Four may be less harmful than the Vancouver Port Authority's plans for a Terminal 2, it is still likely to cause long-term irreparable harm to critical ecosystems, which are already threatened. Is this justified by the expected commercial benefit? No!

Please put a stop to this project as well as DeltaPort's proposed Terminal 2. Both projects are misguided and pose lethal threats to a wide range of species.

Larry Colero
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"The mark of a moderate man is freedom from his own ideas."
Lao Tsu