October 22
October 22, 2007
Richard Weaver
October 24, 2007
More than 100 Terrebonne Parish residents attended a meeting at the Devon Keller Gym in Gibson Thursday night to express concerns about the Plains All American oil-storage tank facility and pipeline proposed for 5223 Bayou Black Drive in Gibson.
The meeting was conducted by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Plains is applying to DEQ for an air-operating permit.
Plains has not yet submitted an application to the Terrebonne Parish Department of Planning and Zoning to construct the tank and pipeline, said Courtney Alcock, parish attorney.
The company intended to locate the oil-storage facility near Greenwood Middle School in Gibson, but has now chosen a site around a mile northwest of the original location.
Plains originally applied to DEQ to construct four oil-storage tanks at the site, but has submitted an entirely new air-operating permit application to the department for one storage tank with a 250,000 barrel capacity, a company representative at the meeting told the audience.
“It’s been a fluid, evolving situation,” he said.
The proposed facility will handle only crude oil, the spokesman said. The oil will enter and leave the facility by pipeline only. No oil will be transported by truck or container.
He said the crude oil is not waste, so it cannot be classified as hazardous waste.
According to a DEQ handout, the estimated weight of the toxic-air-pollutant emissions from the oil-storage tank facility is 1.55 tons a year.
The toxic emissions listed are benzene, a toxic and flammable compound; toluene, a flammable solvent; xylene, a toxic and flammable liquid; ethyl benzene, used in the production of styrene; n-hexane, which was placed on the Toxic Release Inventory of chemicals in 1994, and cumene, a toxic liquid.
In a Sept. 19 letter to the Terrebonne Parish Council’s Community Development and Planning Committee, Plains Marketing Vice President Mark Gorman wrote about the proposed oil tank and pipeline: “[T]his project does not constitute additional crude oil storage capacity but is simply to replace crude oil storage capacity that is no longer available to us… we seek replacement storage capacity to enable us to maintain our existing tank storage capacity in the Gibson area….”
The letter also states Plains has acquired 30 acres of land surrounding the planned oil tank for use as a buffer, and that the “proposed construction site is in a primarily industrial area that has been dedicated to the crude oil storage business for many years and the proposal construction site has relatively few nearby residences.”
A dozen or more Terrebonne Parish residents spoke at the meeting, including parish officials and candidates for public office. All stated they were opposed to issuing Plains an air-operating permit.
DEQ attorney Robert Reine divided the speakers into three groups, allowing residents living within a two-mile radius of the proposed facility to speak first, followed by persons who work within the radius, then by other residents.
Several speakers referred to the Murphy Oil storage tanks in Meraux in St. Bernard Parish, some of which ruptured as a result of Hurricane Katrina and spilled oil into homes near the facility.
Pat Newman, a former St. Bernard Parish resident whose home received oil damage from the Murphy spill and who now lives in Gibson, said children’s lungs are still growing and can be vulnerable to respiratory infection. She then read from parts of the Louisiana Constitution addressing environmental protection.
Gibson resident Doug Daigle said that opposition to the new tank location is even stronger than resistance to the original proposed site.
Another Gibson resident, Melissa Barras, said the driveway leading to the tanks is only several feet from her home. The facility could affect a pond located on or near her property.
Bernadine Morgan, also from Gibson, said, “I don’t want any tank on Bayou Black. What about our property value. Who would buy property next to these tanks?”
Only two other residents cited concerns about property values possibly decreasing as a reason for opposing the air-operating permit. However, several speakers brought up safety issues.
A Gibson resident who identified herself as a member of KOSS (Keep Our System Safe) said, “This may be only the beginning of oil tanks along Bayou Black. I do not want to live in fear that an accident may occur.”
Another speaker from Gibson talked about a local tank fire which occurred more than 30 years ago. A later speaker mentioned an oil tank fire in Terrebonne Parish two years ago which exploded while maintenance work was taking place.
A Bayou Blue resident recited a list of tank fires, which have occurred nationally, saying, in some cases, tanks have rocketed upward after catching on fire.
Clarence Williams, who lives in Schriever, said, “Location, location, location. Not here, not here, not here. I’m concerned about this eroding our quality of life, and our property values (if) a tank ruptures.”
A speaker from Houma said he believed the proposed tank would hurt the area’s ability to receive money from the federal Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), should the bill become law.
One resident questioned whether eroding south Louisiana soil could cause the oil pipeline to shift, and asserted that fire insurance ratings would rise in Gibson if the facility were built.
Among parish officials who spoke, School Board member L.P. Bordelon asked the audience, “Who are the best stewards of our property, the pipeline company or the residents? (The residents) are the best stewards.”
Parish Council Chairman Alvin Tillman said, “We don’t know when, but we know sooner or later something will happen.”
Leland Robichaux, a candidate for the parish council’s District 6 seat, said the general public will be placed at risk if a catastrophic event occurs at the tank site.
Numerous speakers asked the DEQ for a 30-day extension on the public comment period, which ended Oct. 22. The residents contended that Louisiana law allows expanding the time period in cases of extraordinary public response.
Mallett said DEQ would consider extending the input period.
He added that the speakers gave good reasons for their opposition to Plains’ application for a state air-operating permit.
Normally, he said, “Most people say they don’t want it because it’s in my backyard. This has been an exceptionally well-formed meeting.”
About 100 residents turned out to argue against Plain’s All American’s proposal to put an oil-storage tank facility and pipeline along Bayou Black Drive in Gibson. Resident Doug Daigle argued that similar tanks in the area have leaked and fears the Plain’s tanks would have the same result. * Staff Photo • Tri-Parish Times
