Concerns
Stubbs Chapel Church neighborhood meeting 4-7-15
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Concerns: - Ground Water Pollution - Toxic Well Water - Traffic Blocking of Emergency Vehicles by Stopped Trains |
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Residents want Macon-Bibb County
P&Z to defer rail spur vote
pramati@macon.com By PHILLIP RAMATI Saturday, April 11, 2015, page 1B The Rev. Arthur Hubbard, of Stubbs Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, discusses his concerns about a proposed rail spur that might be coming to his neighborhood. PHILLIP RAMATI — pramati@macon.com ...watch the video on YouTUBE : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C35DNHBG82s Neighborhood residents living near Sofkee Industrial Park are asking that a decision on a proposed rail spur there be deferred until the project’s health and environmental impact can be determined. At its meeting Monday, the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled to decide on Epic Midstream LLC’s application to rezone 2840 Barnes Ferry Road from an agricultural district to a wholesale and light industrial district. That would allow the company to build a rail spur that would help service a pipeline loading station. But at a Friday news conference, the Rev. Arthur Hubbard of Stubbs Chapel Missionary Baptist Church -- himself a former P&Z board member -- and neighborhood residents said they have concerns over the environmental impact of the project, since it involves loading ethanol into a pipeline from the rails. Hubbard said a previous oil spill in 1980 affected wells and soil in the area, and residents have gotten sick over the years. Hubbard said residents also have concerns about the impact of potential leaks. “We already have an ongoing problem from a fuel line that was placed here in 1960,” Hubbard said. “That fuel line busted back in 1980. We’re in the process now of trying to clean up that problem. Bringing the ethanol (rail) cars in here, that’s subject to create another problem for us, and we have not covered one problem before we develop another problem.” The latest P&Z report about the zoning request indicates that its employees think the change is in order. “...(S)taff is of the opinion that the proposal as submitted is in compliance with the existing and future land use pattern and that it would not adversely influence living conditions in the surrounding areas,” the report said. “In terms of quality of life, staff is of the opinion that the proposed M-1 zoning district is not out of scale with the existing zoning trends in the area.” An attempt to reach Epic Midstream for comment Friday was unsuccessful. Previously, an Epic official said the pipeline has not leaked since the 1980s. Hubbard said he’s been in contact with the state’s Environmental Protection Division to have the soil and water in the area tested. He said there’s never been an environmental or health study done in the area. Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Elaine Lucas, who represents that part of the county, attended the gathering and said that residents aren’t necessarily trying to kill the project, but just defer it long enough for the studies. The item has already been deferred from the previous month’s meeting. “We want (P&Z) to defer acting on (the company’s) request until all this is done,” she said. “If (there’s no environmental) problem, that’s fine and everyone can go on their business as usual. (Deferring it) will give the company a chance to explain.” Lucas said she’s been in contact with the local health department, Mayor Robert Reichert and environmental groups to get their support on the issue, and she said her husband, state Sen. David Lucas, D-Macon, is willing to work on it at the state level. Hubbard said there are also concerns about adding to the existing rail line. With only a few entrances into the neighborhood, railroad traffic can often block vehicles from entering and leaving the area, including emergency vehicles, he said. To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334 http://www.macon.com/2015/04/10/3687809_residents-want-pz-to-defer-rail.html ... |
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Contact Rev. Arthur L. Hubbard <ALHubbard@Att.net>, Pastor Stubbs Chapel Missionary Baptist Church 2230 Barnes Ferry Rd Macon, Ga 31216 Church 478.785.0086 Pastor 478.788.7427 ... Commissioner Elaine H. Lucas District 3 Macon-Bibb County 700 Popular St POBox 247 Macon, GA 31202 478-951-3762 Office 478-257-6767 mbclucas@maconbibb.us www.maconbibb.us elucasconsulting@cox.net |
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Rezoning plans for rail spur set for discussion at zoning meeting By LINDA S. MORRIS lmorris@macon.com April 11, 2015, page 2C http://www.macon.com/2015/04/11/3689761_rezoning-plans-for-rail-spur-set.html The Macon-Bibb County Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to consider an application Monday to rezone about 50 acres for a rail spur to a fuel pipeline on Barnes Ferry Road. Houston, Texas-based Epic Midstream LLC is looking to rezone the property at 2048 Barnes Ferry Road from an agricultural district to a wholesale and light industrial district to allow a rail spur from the Norfolk Southern mainline to serve as a rail pipeline loading station. The site is near Sofkee Road and it is surrounded mostly by vacant land, except for a single-family development across Barnes Ferry Road. Although the rezoning was discussed at the March 23 meeting, the commission asked the fuel company’s representatives to meet with nearby residents to explain the project in more detail, and the matter was deferred until Monday. Epic plans to pump ethanol from rail cars through a new pipeline it would install to its nearby storage facility. The company now has a pipeline along Barnes Ferry Road used to transport jet fuel from its facilities to Robins Air Force Base. Some nearby residents are concerned about the proposed rail spur because they have been dealing with problems with leaks from an existing fuel line for years, Arthur Hubbard said at the March meeting. Linda Ferguson, director of compliance for Epic, said Epic bought the facility in 2012, and the pipeline has not leaked since the 1980s. ... The meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. in the commission chambers, Macon-Bibb County Government Center, 700 Poplar St. This is a change of venue from the regular location for zoning meetings. ... |
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Macon-Bibb zoning commission delays decision on rail spur for third time By LINDA S. MORRIS lmorris@macon.com May 26, 2015 http://www.macon.com/2015/05/26/3765633_macon-bibb-county-zoning-commission.html An application to rezone about 50 acres for a rail spur to a fuel storage facility was deferred for the third time Tuesday by the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission. The proposal by Texas-based Epic Midstream to rezone 2048 Barnes Ferry Road from an agricultural district to a wholesale and light industrial district would allow a rail spur from the Norfolk Southern main line to serve a rail pipeline loading station for ethanol. Epic attorney George Greer said the rail spur would be used about once a month for about a 24-hour period. “It will take about 11 trucks a day (hauling ethanol) off the roads,” Greer said. Epic has taken additional steps to “be a good neighbor” by increasing the buffer from 50 feet to 100 feet. This item had been deferred from the March 23 and April 13 meetings. The April deferral was to allow nearby residents an opportunity to receive a response about the current remediation project for a nearby jet fuel pipeline. But it was not clear from Tuesday’s meeting if they had received the information they were looking to get. Arthur Hubbard, who said he represented a nearby neighborhood, said residents don’t want the rail spur because of problems with leaks from a jet fuel pipeline that some have for dealt with for years. Some wells in the area have been polluted due to the fuel leaks, he said. However, Greer said Epic bought the facility in 2012, and the previous owner was responsible for issues with the jet fuel leaks. He said the matter was being monitored by federal officials. He said the issue before the commission was whether the site was appropriate for the rezoning requested. “It’s not a forum to litigate” the oil leakage that happened in the 1980s, he said. Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Elaine Lucas told the commission she was there “to address the concerns” of residents in the area. She said the matter had been discussed by a city-county commission committee earlier Tuesday morning. “There is evidence of contamination already in this area,” said Lucas, who was concerned about the health and welfare of the residents. She asked the commission to delay again a decision on the rezoning application until the local government’s legal department could look into the matter. Several other people spoke, asking the commission to either deny the rezoning or delay it. Even though P&Z Commissioner Jeane Easom questioned what would be accomplished by deferring the matter again, the commission unanimously agreed to defer it to the June 8 meeting. In another matter, Bibb County Probate Judge Sarah Harris swore in Tim Jones as a zoning commissioner. He replaces Sarah Gerwig-Moore, whose term expired. The commission Tuesday first addressed the items that were to be heard May 11. That meeting had to be canceled because of inadequate legal notification. The items from that agenda were: REZONINGS: ... Information from The Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223 |
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