Port Edward is sick and tired of cleaning coal dust off their properties and are now raising concerns to federal and provincial agencies.
Port Edward council passed a motion last week to contact the environment ministry at both the federal and provincial levels over the ongoing issue of coal dust reaching Port Edward from the Ridley Terminals Inc. (RTI) coal-loading facility.
“Our motto is: clean, neat and green. Until RTI arrived here we were free from coal dust,” Coun. Knut Bjorndal said at the July 9 council meeting.
Port Edward officials have received numerous complaints about coal dust covering boats, homes, and patio furniture. One Port Edward homeowner reported leaving a bedroom window open for several hours earlier in July, and returned later to discover the room covered in a thick layer of coal dust.
Coun. Dan Franzen told council the exterior of his house was covered in coal dust a week and a half ago, as well as his boat.
“It was just black with coal dust... It’s supposed to be white,” he said.
Bjorndal was the most vocal, particularly with the fact that the district has contacted RTI in the past with little change.
“Council has written letters every year I’ve been on council ... and really nothing has happened. The situation has actually worsened in the last five years,” he said.
Bjorndal said the district needs to be more forceful with their concerns to RTI and to get other government agencies involved.
“RTI must contain coal dust and coal on their site and be mandated to rectify the situation as soon as possible,” he said.
Coun. Christine MacKenzie said in the last five years the problem hasn’t been constant, but a seasonal issue.
“This weekend was horrible... It’s not always like that. It comes and goes. This is the worst I’ve seen it,” MacKenzie said.
Michelle Bryant, corporate affairs manager for RTI, said when the area experiences weather patterns similar to the first week of July it’s difficult to prevent any coal dust from blowing around. Bryant attended the meeting to hear concerns, and told the Northern View the facility has maintained a positive relationship with the district.
Bryant said RTI has always responded immediately to concerns raised by residents in Port Edward. The terminal has a contractor on call to respond to dust issues.
“He will go out to homes in Port Edward no questions asked to clean their homes,” she said.
Bryant said it’s important to note RTI is a 30-year-old facility that’s currently looking at new technologies to mitigate coal dust. The facility used a water cannon system last year which they determined wasn’t effective because of wind in the area.
“We are looking at what other terminals are doing and try to look at solutions here,” she said, adding there are currently two water trucks on site and spray towers to keep coal dust down.
Mayor Dave MacDonald said rail cars carrying coal may be part of the reason coal dust is sometimes heavy in Port Edward.
Franzen said while he was travelling to Terrace on July 6 a train carrying coal was travelling toward Prince Rupert.
“The way the light was hitting it you could see the coal dust billowing off each car that went by. It was absolutely horrible,” Franzen said.