In a room with abutters expressing serious concerns about the plan, the Rochester Select Board on Monday reviewed a request for a Flammable Fluid License from Bristol Asphalt, Inc. to store liquid asphalt at 99 Kings Highway.
The plan is to place 300-ton liquid asphalt tanks into three vertical silos on the site, explained business owner Gerry Lorusso. Abutters and their attorney, environmental lawyer George F. Hailer, took issue with how much of a nuisance and fire hazard these tanks would impose on their residential neighborhood.
The Select Board decided to continue the hearing to its January 20 meeting in order to seek the input of the state Fire Marshal and invite Town Counsel to that meeting, responding directly to what both sides had to say.
Town Administrator Cameron Durant started the hearing by reporting the town recently received a letter from the abutters’ attorney detailing their complaints and concerns about the tanks. Project developer Steve Beltz, attending the meeting on Zoom, was quick to note the operation has gone through the long permitting process and the tanks were always part of the site plan.
Lorusso explained the tanks will contain a mix of sand, stone and liquid asphalt. The mixture’s flash point, i.e. flammable temperature, is 250 degrees, he said. In comparison, household heating fuel tanks have a lower flash point. He added he has operated other liquid asphalt tank operations and has never had a fire problem.
Neighbors remained concerned. Abutter Linda Westgate asked why two asphalt plants need to be side by side in that neighborhood. “If something, an explosion, happens there, we’re gone,” she said. “It’s too much. You’re taking over our neighborhood.”
Fellow abutter Jan Bergeron said she has a four-year-old daughter and worries about the safety of her road with its traffic of speeding trucks. “I try to walk down by road but can’t,” she said. “Something should be done for that part of Rochester.”
Hailer, the neighbors’ attorney, said for years they’ve gone to court to prevent this operation from being built. “It’s an ultra-hazardous situation,” he said. “These neighbors are ground-zero. There are no buffer zones here.”
Beltz countered that the location of these tanks has been settled for years and litigated against without success. Durant said that according to town counsel the 1,000-foot buffer the neighbors request in their letter is not a legal requirement. Chair Adam Murphy emphasized that this is a hearing for the tanks only, not the permits for the operation. He pointed out that if the town denied the permits for the tanks the company would store the asphalt mix in trailers. It would be more safely stored in the tanks. He said the state fire marshal has dubbed them safe. He promised, however, to work on the problem of speeding trucks in the area with the Police Chief and that speed counter machines will be placed in that area soon.
Durant ended the discussion by recommending the continuance to allow time for the state Fire Marshal’s input on the safety factor.
The next meeting of the Rochester Select Board is scheduled for Monday, January 5, at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Select Board
By Michael J. DeCicco