Gibson neighbors worried storage tank site will be built nearby

A Houston-based firm’s plan to locate crude oil storage tanks near a Gibson neighborhood continues to draw fire.

Plains All American Pipeline, Inc., caused a stir late last year when it first announced plans to build a storage facility near Greenwood Middle School. After school officials balked at the site being so close to the elementary school, Plains All American withdrew its original plan.

Despite complaints from Gibson residents that the company now intends to build the storage tank site near a Bayou Black neighborhood, the Terrebonne Parish Council said it still hadn’t received official word from the company requesting authorization from the project.

“Until a company actually files for the permit, there is nothing we can do so there is no legal means [to object to the project] at this point,” said Pat Gordon, parish planning and zoning director.

According to an e-mail to Gordon from a local project engineer, there has been some communication between the company and the parish.

The Tri-Parish Times obtained a copy of the e-mail project manager Chad Robichaux, of T. Baker Smith, Inc., sent March 6 to Gordon stating the alternate site is “over a mile away from Greenwood Middle School and is vacant land.”

“Plains is looking at an alternative site for their terminal and asked that I find out what is required to obtain a building permit to construct one 212-inch diameter crude oil storage tank and a containment dike,” Robichaux writes. “A wetland delineation was conducted and we will be avoiding the wetland area completely.”

The project, the e-mail notes, is also outside of the coastal zone boundary.

“Are you just going to die and let this matter slip through the cracks,” 73-year-old Gibson resident Doug Daigle asked the council at its meeting last Wednesday.

Plains All American’s alternative site is located approximately 300 feet from Daigle’s home, the Gibson man said.

Daigle and neighbors argue the tanks will lower property values, pose a health threat because of the high levels of hydrogen sulfide contained in the tanks, create a hazard in the event of a hurricane or tornado, and cause homeowner’s insurance rates to rise.

Daigle launched his campaign against Plains All American at the parish council’s March 21 meeting. District 2 Councilwoman Arlanda Williams asked that the issue be forwarded to the parish attorney for an opinion.

However, last Wednesday, legal counselor Courtney Alcock said because an official request had not been made, the parish could not act.

“I have not received any kind of application yet,” she said. “We just can’t do anything.”

District 6 Councilman Harold Lapeyre questioned the suitability of the site. “Can Mr. Gordon come down with a less obtrusive site, perhaps less obtrusive to the Bayou Black Community? Perhaps an area acceptable to both parties?” he asked.

District 3 Councilwoman Kim Elfert said, ultimately, the Plains All American issue will come down to zoning. “These are the kinds of problems you have when there is no zoning, Mr. Daigle. I urge you to get active dialogue going in your community about zoning,” she said.

In the meantime, however, they parish must wait.

“Until the company requests a permit for this location, there is nothing we can do. I don’t know what the laws read, but there is nothing I can foresee we will be able to do, until they approach us,” said District 7 Councilman Clayton Voisin.

Bayou Black Drive resident Tim Sharpe told the council that after 34 years as an oilfield employee, he knows that “…oil just isn’t the only thing going in those tanks n hydrogen sulfide is.”

During an appearance on KBZE 105.9 FM’s Jerome Boykin Show Friday, Daigle reiterated the neighborhood’s plight. “The council says they do not have any legal means to stop this,” he said.

With the help of Sen. Butch Gautreaux, Daigle said he contact the state Department of Environmental Quality. He said DEQ representative Karen Gautreaux informed him Plains All American will not need a permit to operate; rather, a clear water certificate to discharge water from the tanks is all that is required.

Melissa Barras, who appeared with Daigle on the Boykin show, lives on the other side of the proposed Plains All American site.

“Just look at what happened in St. Bernard after Hurricane Katrina, with the Murphy Oil refinery,” Barras told Boykin. “How would we be able to overcome that, God forbid, if it happens here in Gibson.

“Because of the hurricane, the company in St. Bernard had no control n they had no control on where the oil ended up,” Barras said.

At least three other tanks n owned by companies other than Plains All American n are located near the Bayou Black neighbors. When one of the tanks began to leak, the neighborhood was evacuated as a precaution, Daigle said.

“There has got be something dangerous in these tanks, for people to be evacuated in the middle of the night,” he said.

Daigle said he plans to take Elfert up on her challenge and begin a campaign for stricter zoning in the Gibson area.

“Apparently, there isn’t much we can do because this is all happening or supposed to happen

on private property,” Daigle said. “And if we had zoning, it would be impossible [for the tanks to be built].”

Staff photo by HOWARD J. CASTAY JR. * Gibson resident Doug Daigle argues a tank near his Bayou Black Drive residence is leaking, causing the grass to die and threatening nearby homes in the event of flooding. It is, in part, why neighbors are against Plains All American building a storage tank facility nearby.