Esther I. Brown
dynamic, detail-oriented creativeC-VILLE Issue #18.05
Issue #18.05 :: 01/31/2006 – 02/06/2006
Virginia Oil seeks permit for gas pumping
DEQ accepting public comment until February 8
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and its Air Pollution Control Board have issued a notice inviting public comment on a permit for the Virginia Oil Company’s bulk petroleum facility located at 1100 Harris St. in Charlottesville.
The Virginia Oil Company applied for a permit that would officially limit the daily “gasoline throughput” at its facility to 75,700 liters, or 20,000 gallons. Janardan Pandey of the DEQ’s Valley Regional Office in Harrisonburg says that the facility has operated at its current location since 1974 and “there is no big expansion going on, this is just a preventative measure.”
Pandey says that the Virginia Oil Company facility already operates below the 20,000 gallon-a-day throughput standard. Still, Pandey says that “if the facility does more than 20,000 they have to meet some additional requirements—they have not exceeded [the 20,000 limit] and they are not going to exceed it; they’re doing this mainly to avoid federal standards.”
Pandey says that while State Operating Permits do not expire and do not have to be renewed, such facilities are inspected regularly. He does not anticipate any significant public opposition to the issuing of this permit.
The DEQ will be accepting public comment or request for a public hearing until February 8; they must be written and sent via e-mail, fax, or postal mail. For more information regarding the permit, contact Pandey at (540) 574-7817 or jrpandy@deq. virginia.gov.
—Esther Brown
