Port Metro Vancouver files Environmental Impact Statement
Port Metro Vancouver has submitted a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. The project is a proposed new container terminal at Roberts Bank in Delta, B.C. on Canada’s west coast, the Port Authority said in a press release.
Forecasts show demand for goods shipped in containers is growing, and it is expected container terminals on B.C.’s coast will be at capacity by the early 2020s. Roberts Bank Terminal 2, along with expansion of the Port of Prince Rupert and other container terminals in Vancouver, will provide much needed space for this growth.
“The region is running out of room to manage growing Canadian trade with Asia,” said Robin Silvester, President and Chief Executive Officer of Port Metro Vancouver. “The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project will ensure demand can be met while providing important economic benefits to B.C. and Canada. We look forward to the upcoming review of our environmental assessment by an independent panel.”
The Environmental Impact Statement documents four years of extensive scientific study and consultation with regulators, Aboriginal groups, local government and the public to assess the potential environmental, economic, social, heritage and health effects of the terminal’s construction and operation. The conclusion of the comprehensive assessment is the effects of the project, following the implementation of mitigation, are not expected to significantly affect the environment. The Environmental Impact Statement will now become the subject of a federal environmental assessment, including a review by an independent review panel. This is the most stringent such process in Canada, and will include multiple opportunities for public comment.
Port Metro Vancouver is Canada’s largest port and the fourth largest tonnage port in North America, responsible for Canada’s trade with more than 160 world economies. Enabling the trade of approximately $187 billion in goods annually, the port generates an estimated 100,000 jobs, $6.1 billion in wages, and $9.7 billion in GDP across Canada.