The impact assessment of the proposed Global Container Terminals (GCT) Deltaport Expansion – Berth Four Project in British Columbia has been referred to an independent review panel.
The project would involve the expansion of the existing GCT Deltaport Container Terminal, a container storage and handling facility located in Delta, British Columbia, approximately 35 kilometres south of Vancouver.
As proposed, the project would include the addition of a fourth berth on the east side of the Roberts Bank Causeway. It would also include increased land-based container storage and handling facilities, a short sea shipping berth, the expansion of the intermodal rail yard along the causeway, and dredging to provide safe access for ships.
Referral to the review panel was deemed in the public interest. In doing so, the minister of environment and climate change, Steven Guilbeault, took into account the extent to which the project’s potential effects in areas of federal jurisdiction may be adverse, concerns expressed by the public and Indigenous nations in relation to these effects, and opportunities for cooperation with the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (EAO).
Some of the contributing factors considered include the extent of the adverse potential environmental effects to fish and fish habitat, aquatic species at risk and migratory birds, as well as potential impacts on the rights of Indigenous peoples of Canada.
The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada has posted the notice of the minister’s decision, including the minister’s reasons for referring the project to a review panel, on its Registry website.
The Agency will continue to work with the EAO to ensure coordination and alignment of federal and provincial regulatory processes, including the potential for a coordinated process.
For more information on the project and the impact assessment process, visit the Agency’s website at canada.ca/iaac.
As a next step, the public and Indigenous nations will be invited to provide comment on the draft Joint Guidelines and the draft Joint Assessment Plan. Comments will be used to finalize these documents and a Notice of Commencement of the Impact Assessment will be posted to the Agency’s Registry website. A notice will be posted to the Agency’s website at a later date stating that the review panel has been appointed by the President of the Agency.
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