A routine permit vote at Mobile’s City Council took an unexpected turn this week when an Arc Logistics Partners executive admitted the company was already storing sulfuric acid on the city’s waterfront, months before council members ever cast a ballot on whether to allow it.
The admission came after weeks of heated debate and heavy criticism from community members over Arc’s request to store the chemical at its bulk storage facility. As the council prepared to vote, Councilwoman Gina Gregory asked point-blank whether the company was already using sulfuric acid storage tanks on the waterfront.
The answer stunned people in the room. Arc Vice President Clayton Curtis replied simply, “correct.”
Councilman Levon Manzie said he was taken aback by the admission, noting that the entire purpose of the vote was to determine whether the chemical storage should be permitted in the first place. In response, Curtis said the company had not realized it needed permission until after the tanks were already in place, telling the council he had assumed people were aware of the arrangement.
In the end, the council allowed Arc to continue storing asphalt at the site but rejected the request tied to sulfuric acid storage. City officials did not immediately say what would happen to the sulfuric acid already sitting in tanks on the property, leaving an open question about enforcement and next steps.
The revelation adds a new layer to an already contentious fight over industrial storage along Mobile’s waterfront, where residents near Blakely Island have spent weeks pressing officials over the safety of storing hazardous chemicals so close to the Mobile River. Neighbors have raised concerns about emergency planning in the event of flooding or a hurricane, as well as the long-term direction of Arc’s operations in the city.
City leaders now face pressure to explain how a company came to store a hazardous chemical on city-regulated waterfront property without the required permit, and what oversight mechanisms exist to catch similar gaps before they happen. The episode is likely to fuel further scrutiny of industrial permitting along Mobile’s working waterfront as the city weighs future storage and expansion proposals from companies operating there.
Council members did not set a timeline for resolving the status of the sulfuric acid already on site, but the admission is expected to remain a point of contention as the debate over waterfront industrial use continues.