Fuel supplier Sol Petroleum is asking for expedited planning approval for a new concrete wall to protect its seafront storage tanks and associated infrastructure.
In its application to the Central Planning Authority, the company said the “structural integrity of the existing footprint is deteriorating and in need of upgrading”.
It plans to build the new wall closer to the sea to enclose the entire fuel-receiving system at the company’s terminal at Jackson Point on South Church Street in George Town.
The 11.7-foot wall will only be 32 feet from the iron shore high water mark at its nearest point, whereas planning regulations say it must be at least 50 feet away.
The applicant said it will help to reduce maintenance costs caused by the exposure of the steel structures to sea water and minimise the risk of premature failure.
The company added that the $600,000 project will also reduce the likelihood of “sabotage or terrorist attack”.
If the receiving system were to fail, there could be a significant environmental impact to the land, sea, and sensitive areas such as a nearby coral aquaculture, Sol Petroleum warned.
Risk to a protected area
In its analysis of the plans, the Department of Environment said the site is adjacent to a marine protected area under the National Conservation Act, 2013.
Inadequate storage of materials and management of construction waste and debris could result in adverse effects to that area through run-off, it said.
“Storms, high waves, high tides, rainy weather or construction practices can result in the material entering the marine protected area,” the department added.
DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie explained that the planning authority must apply for approval from the National Conservation Council before determining the application.
A recent Court of Appeal judgement confirmed that the council has final say on any planning matters that may have an adverse effect on protected areas or species.
The department set down one condition which will have to be satisfied as part of the approval for the project: Sol Petroleum must prepare a construction environmental management plan for review and approval by the DoE.
The Central Planning Authority will discuss the application at its next meeting on Wednesday, 11 Oct., and the decision will be published in the minutes three weeks later.
Fuel tank fire
In 2018, OfReg fined Sol Petroleum $200,000 for safety failures that led to a huge fuel tank fire in July 2017.
The multi-sector regulator also ordered the company to pay $86,700 in costs for a four-month investigation into the blaze.
The investigation concluded that the fire was caused by welding work on an in-service diesel tank that was not properly monitored and should not have taken place.
The report said Sol and its contractor had breached industry safety standards in carrying out “hot works” on a fuel tank filled with 15,000 barrels (525,000 gallons) of diesel.
The fire took more than eight hours to extinguish and caused a mass evacuation of homes and businesses within a mile of the terminal.
The company reimbursed residents and business owners for the inconvenience.
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