More than 100 residents turned out for a public forum this week to question representatives of Arc Logistics Partners about plans to store additional sulfuric acid at the company’s Mobile waterfront terminal, part of a broader debate over industrial development near the city’s downtown.
The meeting, held at a community center in Mobile, was organized after residents appealed a Planning Commission decision allowing the terminal operator to build three smaller storage tanks for asphalt on Blakely Island, rather than one larger tank. Arc Logistics separately received approval to expand its sulfuric acid storage capacity at its Mobile terminal. Both matters remain before the Mobile City Council, which has delayed votes on the appeals.
The debate over how the city should regulate above-ground storage tanks near residential areas has simmered for years, prompting officials to appoint a citizen committee to study the issue and recommend zoning changes that the Planning Commission has since been evaluating.
Much of the discussion centered on worst-case scenarios. Residents asked company representatives how they would respond to a spill, what risks sulfuric acid would pose to children if it reached local waterways, and how far an evacuation zone might extend in the event of a leak at a facility located roughly a mile from the nearest residential area.
Company officials also fielded questions about a long-rumored plan to bring crude oil to the terminal by rail, tied to a rail facility north of downtown. Arc Terminals’ vice president of regulatory affairs told the audience those plans were no longer active, drawing applause from the crowd. He said interest in transporting crude by rail had cooled significantly in recent years amid falling oil prices and tighter rail safety regulations nationwide, even though the company had explored the idea when it acquired the Blakely Island site in 2013.
That site was previously owned by a company that spilled oil into the Mobile River several years earlier and later agreed to pay $1.4 million in federal fines. Industry representatives argue that energy-related shipping through the Port of Mobile brings economic benefits to the region, including additional federal funding for channel dredging, but residents at the forum said they remain wary of the risks posed by chemical storage so close to homes and the waterfront.