A conditional use permit to store fuels for an oil distillery near Reliance was unanimously approved Tuesday after public comment opposing the facility was read to the Sweetwater County Commissioners.
The distillery will be located close to B&R Trailer Park operated by Regency of Wyoming, who opposes the distillery’s construction. The zoning for the facility supports heavy industrial, though a portion of the trailer court is located within a few hundred feet of the property boundary. The court’s management sent notices to its residents telling them the facility would result in lowered property values, odors leaking into the trailer park and encouraged opposition to the proposal.
“How is this even a consideration?” a letter from Jerome and Linda Tozzi states. “A petroleum distillery 400 feet from a residential park? The negative health risks to families alone should have made this idea a non starter out of the gate.”
A letter from the trailer court’s attorney, Charles Barnum, also reiterated concerns about the facility.
“The conditional use permit is requested because of the need to store fuels that exceed the current limit allowed by a Heavy Industrial Zoning District,” Barnum wrote. “as you are well aware, the parcel in question is not located in a Heavy Industrial “district” but it is instead located located adjacent to a high density residential area.”
While fears of potential fire and explosions at the facility were raised, both Fire District No. 1’s chief and the Sweetwater County Fire Warden voiced their approval with the fire suppression systems planned for the facility. The two proposed tank farms at the site would be covered with an automated system that would spray a chemical foam on the tanks if a fire starts. The facility will also have three fire hydrants on site. Both the fire warden and Fire District No. 1 chief recommended the placement of access gates near the hydrants to make access to the property and water easier during a fire.
“We feel very confident in the fire protection system they’re proposing,” Mike Bournazian, county fire warden said.
Commissioner John Kolb, who works in the petroleum industry, also said the tanks are equipped with safety measures designed to release pressure and prevent an explosion.
Kolb addressed the issue regarding the zoning for the trailer park and the site for the proposed distillery, saying the problem came about when the land was originally zoned in 1979. Kolb sees the issue as an opportunity to fix the 36-year-old zoning problem through requirements placed on the distillery prior to its construction.
In addressing some of the concerns raised through the public comments, Wayne Heftye, developer for Rock Springs Energy Group, said odors and pollution wouldn’t be an issue because the entire distillery system is a closed-loop process, meaning the crude oil being processed would not be exposed to outside air.
Noise and traffic would not be a problem either, Rock Springs Energy Group claims, as the majority of work is contained inside buildings at the site and deliveries trucked into the distillery would be limited to a 12-hour window starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 7 p.m.
A few residents living in both the trailer park and Reliance attended the meeting to ask questions regarding the project and left satisfied with how Rock Springs Energy Group intends to conduct its business.
Shawna Simpson, whose parents live in the area, said her questions were answered regarding potential fumes from the distillery, though has concerns about Reliance Road being the only point of access for Reliance. The Wyoming Department of Transportation didn’t object to the facility, stating the road could handle increased traffic, through Sweetwater County Emergency Management voiced concerns about the possibility of Reliance’s residents being trapped during a situation at the distillery.
Commissioner Wally Johnson said a second road does exist leading out of Reliance, which would exit onto the Stansbury Mine road, but said the Union Pacific Railroad, which owns property in the area, has been unresponsive to requests involving the road.
The proposed facility is expected to go online as early as June and will distill crude oil into waxes, marine diesel and solvents.
Once it’s at full capacity, the distillery will process 5,000 barrels of crude oil a day and provide 35-40 jobs.
Reader Comments(0)