August 25, 2023 [Yahoo News]- The biggest crowd Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald has ever seen a few years into his tenure at the helm filled the County Council’s chambers and then some Wednesday night to raise objections to a huge fuel tank farm and rail terminal planned near Ormond Beach.
At the end of the three-hour special meeting, the council unanimously voted to have county staff work with Belvedere Terminals of St. Petersburg on considering looking at a different site.
The council also wants staff to meet with state and federal officials and review case law to determine what options the county may have.
Here’s a look at Belvedere Terminals and the proposed project:
What is Belvedere Terminals?
The company is based in St. Petersburg and provides fuel storage and distribution for customers.
Some of those customers include Florida East Coast Railway, CSX and Norfolk Southern, according to the company’s website.
“Through alliances with interstate pipelines and rail transportation providers, Belvedere’s primary focus is providing a safe and cost-effective distribution platform for the more remote and underserved Georgia and Florida markets, which are typically located outside the regional seaports,” the website states.
The company also owns its own rail fleet so customers “can quickly adjust to changing market trends and expedite emergency response times.”
Unlike seaports where the minimum amount is about 330,000 barrel shiploads, Belvedere Terminals works with batches as small as 5,000 barrels, according to the company’s website.
What do plans for the Ormond-area site include?
The planned facility is slated for over 60 acres of vacant land at 874 Hull Road near U.S. 1.
Plans call for 16 tanks, some 40 feet tall, that will store upwards of 20 million gallons of fuel.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the facility can store:
- 7 million-plus gallons of gasoline
- 6 million-plus gallons of ethanol
- 6 million-plus gallons of ultra-low sulfur diesel
- 315,000 gallons of biodiesel
- 30,000 gallons of additives
- 160,000 gallons of propane
In a statement provided to The News-Journal earlier this month, Belvedere Terminals Chief Operating Officer Mike Benedetto said the project will create hundreds of jobs.
“Belvedere Terminals is committed to using the highest level of life safety and protection designs,” he said. “The company’s tremendous focus on safety measures that are designed into the project at the outset incorporate redundant layers of protection to mitigate any such events (like a fire or explosion).”
According to FDEP documents, the facility will have a fire protection system that includes an emergency fire water pump and foam fire suppression, as well as safety monitoring systems.
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