Magellan Midstream Partners, the company aiming to expand its fuel storage operations close to an elementary school in Commerce City, has retracted its expansion plans, the firm announced Thursday. The application, which involved adding five more tanks to the already 20-tank facility at Dupont Terminal, has faced serious opposition from residents. This facility stands just across from Dupont Elementary, stirring unease about the potential health impacts on school children and nearby communities. As Denver7 reported, concerns were particularly piqued by fears of worsening air quality, given that the site sits less than five miles from the Suncor refinery.
Though the company cited business reasons for the withdrawal, public pressure seemed to be a contributing factor, bursting forth as the comment period closed. Laura Martinez, who oversees environmental justice programs at the nonprofit Cultivando, conveyed a deep connection between the application's withdrawal and the community's pushback. "They can say whatever they want, but the fact they pulled it right when all of this is happening speaks volumes. We know that power is within the people and that has an effect," she said, as per The Denver Post. Magellan had maintained that the expansion was necessary to store reformulated gasoline, which is required in the summer months to reduce ozone emissions.
Amidst the controversy, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Air Pollution Control Division had given the project a preliminary nod. Contrasting with fears, proponents of the expansion argued that the availability of more reformulated gasoline could have aligned with the state's environmental goals. Notably, using such fuel in summer months is part of efforts to meet the EPA's ozone emission standards. Its denser properties curb the evaporation rate, thus potentially mitigating ozone formation in the hotter periods as per the EPA, as detailed by The Colorado Sun.
However, concerns about increased fuel costs due to the dominance of Suncor’s refinery in the market were somewhat alleviated when Magellan piped in alternative supplies this spring. According to officials from the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association, speaking to The Colorado Sun, this initiative saved Front Range residents, including those in Adams County, between 15 to 20 cents per gallon, increasing competition and thus lowering prices. This maneuver acknowledged that a significant portion of the region's gasoline comes from local providers like Magellan and Suncor, and there is an unwritten obligation to take care of that community, the trade group explained.
