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Seven Bulk Petroleum Storage Facilities Along Chelsea River Receive Draft Water Permits EPA and Massachusetts DEP Seek Community Input

Release Date: 03/14/2005
Contact Information:

Contact: Sheryl Rosner, EPA Office of Public Affairs, (617) 918-1865, rosner.sheryl@epa.gov

For Immediate Release: March 14, 2005; Release # sr050307

BOSTON - The United State Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection announced today that they have developed Draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for seven bulk petroleum storage facilities located along Chelsea River (Creek) in Chelsea and Revere, Mass. to meet requirements of the Clean Water Act.

The newly issued draft permits replace expired NPDES permits for the following seven bulk petroleum storage facilities: Chelsea Sandwich, LLC; Coastal Oil of New England, Inc., Chelsea Terminal; Gulf Oil Limited Partnership; Global REVCO Terminal, LLC; Global Petroleum Corp.; Global South Terminal, LLC; and, Irving Oil Terminal, Revere.

EPA extended the normal 30-day public comment period for draft permits to 60-days in this case, in order to increase the opportunity for broader community participation.

"We have worked long and hard to carefully consider the broad range of available information in drafting these permits," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA's New England Office. "We look forward to doing the same with the comments we receive on the draft permits."

Chelsea Creek, which flows from the mouth of Mill Creek between Chelsea and Revere, to Boston's Inner Harbor, is a Designated Port Area with a stretch of waterfront set aside primarily for industrial and commercial use. For centuries, it has been flanked by working industries which use the channel to transport raw materials and finished goods.

The proposed permits seek to address potential adverse impacts to sustainable fish populations, aesthetics, and recreation due to the discharge of storm water from these facilities. Storm water accumulating within these facilities has the potential to come in contact with contaminants found in petroleum products during the receipt, storage, and distribution of these materials.
The proposed permits have been developed to control and limit the extent to which contaminants found in petroleum products can migrate into the storm water and from there into Chelsea Creek. The permits are an important component of continuing broader public and private efforts to restore the health of Chelsea Creek and Boston Harbor.

The new draft permits:

• Establish specific water quality and technology-based effluent limitations and monitoring requirements, including more stringent limits for contaminants like benzene, a toxic pollutant.
• Require each facility to update and maintain storm water pollution prevention plans and initiatives that will prevent the occurrence of discharges from activities and operations which could contribute pollutants to the water through storm water discharges. The facilities are required to make yearly certifications to EPA that it is keeping up with their storm water program requirements.
• Identify and control maximum flow rate for each facilities’ oil/water separator to ensure that the water quality of the creek is protected.

Public Information Meeting and Hearing - April 27, 2005
A public information meeting will be held on the draft permits at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Apr. 27, in the Music Room at the Williams Middle Schools, 180 Walnut Street in Chelsea, MA. A public hearing will be held on the same day from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Public Comment Period and Information
The 60 day comment period for the permit begins on March 14, 2005 and EPA will accept all written comments postmarked on or before May 12, 2005. EPA will consider and respond in writing to all timely comments. Comments on the proposed permit should be mailed to: Neil Handler, Project Manager, US EPA, Suite 1100 (CIP), 1 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02114; or sent by email to handler.neil@epa.gov; or via fax to (617) 918-0334.

The draft permits and key documents underlying them are available for review as of March 14, 2005, at the following locations, as well as on the World Wide Web at www.epa.gov/ne/npdes/chelseacreekfuelterminals

Boston Public Library U.S. EPA Records Center
276 Meridian Street 1 Congress Street
East Boston, MA 02128 Boston, MA 02114
(617) 569-0271 (617) 918-1440
Chelsea Public Library
569 Broadway
Chelsea, MA 02150
(617) 889-8397
Revere Public Library
179 Beach Street
Revere, MA 02151
(781) 286-8380

Related Information:
Permits for Seven Bulk Petroleum Storage Facilities Along Chelsea River