Courtesy / South Portland Planning Board
An aerial view showing the proposed condo development, outlined in red.
Updated: July 20, 2020
Proposed SoPo condos would abut oil tank farm
Photo / William Hall
A proposed 12-unit condominium development would abut the Portland Pipe Line Corp. storage facility, shown here. The complex would be sited to the right of the trees in the photo.
By William Hall
As South Portland city councilors this week hear residents' concerns about potential air pollution from one oil tank farm, the city’s planning board will consider a proposal to build a dozen condos next to another.
The board on Wednesday will take up a subdivision application by a South Portland company, identified as PSC LLC, to construct four buildings containing 12 two-bedroom units, on a 1.3-acre parcel at 66 Evans St.
The development, to be dubbed the Residences at Evans Street, would occupy the corner of Hill Street and abut the sprawling site of 23 oil storage tanks owned by Portland Pipe Line Corp. to the east.
As part of the project, PSC would raze a 2,059-square-foot, four-bedroom house, now vacant and dilapidated, on the lot. PSC acquired the property for $390,000 last October from Daniel R. Williams, and it has an assessed value of $212,000, according to city records.
The development would include 31 parking spaces, a small management office and the expansion of an existing driveway. The developer expects the project cost to be about $500,000, according to the application.
Meanwhile, the South Portland City Council on Tuesday may approve the submission of public comments in response to a consent decree with Sprague Resources LP, which operates another petroleum storage facility in the city.
In June, New Hampshire-based Sprague (NYSE: SRLP) agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over alleged violations of federal Clean Air Act rules. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, claimed Sprague exceeded limits on emission of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, from heated tanks that store No. 6 fuel oil and asphalt. The emissions help form ground-level ozone and are considered public health risks.
Sprague must reduce oil storage at its sites in South Portland and Searsport and apply for new air pollution control licenses from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The company must also install odor-control equipment at its 16-tank South Portland facility.
In addition, the consent decree requires Sprague to meet federal and state environmental standards at five other oil storage sites in New England, and to pay $350,000 in civil penalties.
The agreement's publication on June 4 started a 30-day clock for the submission of public comments. The South Portland City Council and the city's Clean Air Advisory Committee requested an extension of the comment period from the federal government, and the deadline for submitting final comments is now Aug. 5.
South Portland is a major terminus for petroleum shipping, the base of the 236-mile Portland-Montreal pipeline, and the site of roughly 120 oil storage tanks operated by a half dozen companies.
The City Council and Planning Board meetings begin at 6:30 p.m., on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Both will be conducted remotely, and access instructions and agenda are available here.
Photo / William Hall
A view of the vacant four-bedroom house at 66 Evans St., which would be demolished under plans being considered by the South Portland Planning Board.
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