Texas Eastern Products Pipeline Co., or TEPPCO, based in Houston, wants to build the fuel terminal near the Beacon Hills area, and is applying to the Corps for permission.
“The application from TEPPCO is on its way to our office,” said Allison Jarrett, public affairs specialist in the Corps’ Nashville District office.
From there, the TEPPCO plans will undergo extensive review before any permit might be issued by the Corps.
“Our Operations Division will review it, and then make a recommendation to our Real Estate Division. It will also have to go under review by our regulatory board,” Jarrett said.
She said the Corps will be centrally concerned with assessing any potential environmental impact from the TEPPCO plans.
The whole Corps review process will take a minimum of “90 to 100 days from the time the application is received” by the Corps, she said.
“That time period could be extended if there’s public opposition to the plans, or if things come up during the permitting process that need more extensive review,” Jarrett said.
As with previous attempts at a barge point in Montgomery County, this latest idea of a river-to-road fuel distribution port has also had its opponents over the past year — particularly residents who live around the site.
One opposition group featuring, among others, former Clarksville City Councilman Joe Couch, has been calling itself “Clarksvillians Confronting Contamination.”
Residents worry about an array of perceived environmental threats and the potential for heavy and dangerous traffic tie-ups from fuel truck trips, paParticularly along the U.S. 41A Bypass.
But the idea of a fuel port that could eventually expand into broader river barge transportation uses for this community also has gained praise from local business recruiters who see it as a potential asset for the Clarksville-Montgomery County Corporate Business Park.
Clarksville’s TEPPCO terminal would be served by a similar port in Boligee, Ala., which, in turn, is fed directly by the main Colonial Pipeline in Houston.
The local terminal would be one of about four terminal points along the Southeastern United States navigational river system that would be served from Boligee.
Some other TEPPCO terminals would be near Savannah, Tenn.; Huntsville, Ala.; and Aberdeen, Miss.
Combined, TEPPCO has said, these terminals are expected to account for 800,000 barrels of storage capacity for gasoline, diesel and biofuels, and the company also has said the terminals will offer “improved trucking logistics” within the Southeast with supply provided by river barge transportation.