Editor John Harding’s story (The NEWS, April 1) announced that Compliance Energy intends to proceed with its application for the proposed coal mine near Buckley Bay.
The announcement adds that getting the coal to dockside in Port Alberni means that a 100-ton truck unit will roar through Cathedral Grove every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That would mean the end of that iconic tourist attraction.
Furthermore, it will cause highway congestion as these monsters grind up the steep grades to the summit and then along Cameron Lake. Is the highway substructure built for this traffic or will taxpayers have to fund major upgrades? Will additional run-outs be necessary to allow for truck brake failures? Or is a bypass for this Provincial Park proposed? If so, will the company pay for it?
If this application is approved, the coal should be shipped by rail. This would avoid any road problems and provide additional employment and would not degrade the tourist industry.
As this coal will go to China, where there are few environmental regulations, we will probably get the product returned as pollution in the upper atmosphere.
William H. Atwood
Parksville
