BIODIESEL OF LAS VEGAS: Waste plan progresses

Planning Commission OKs request to store hazardous materials in silos

Brothers Peter, left, and Tom Thomas are managing partners of Thomas & Mack Co., with a property located at the intersection of Range Road and El Campo Grande Ave. They are concerned about Biodiesel of Las Vegas, located across the street on the left. Biodiesel representatives have come forward with plans to store methanol and ethanol in silos at the site.Marlene KAras/View Illustration by F. Andrew Taylor/ViewStatistics provided by R.C. Costello and Associates, a California company of consulting engineers hired by Thomas & Mack Co., show how far the damage could extend should the silos at Biodiesel of Las Vegas filled with methanol and ethanol explode. Advertisement

The proposed expansion of one North Las Vegas business has created concern among nearby business owners.

Biodiesel of Las Vegas, located south of El Campo Grande and west of Range Road, went before the North Las Vegas Planning Commission last month to request permission for expansion of an already existing plant, allowing for the storage of additional hazardous materials, including approximately 720,000 gallons of methanol and ethanol.

The Planning Commission approved the request; the item is tentatively scheduled to go before the North Las Vegas City Council at the end of the month.

The plant is located in an area annexed by the city in November 2003 and is zoned M-2, a zoning standard that allows for the development of everything from bars and taverns to heavy industrial businesses.

Biodiesel of Las Vegas attorney Bob Gronauer said that the company gained approval to add the six additional containers to the already existing site in 2006, and the most recent application to go before the city was a request that would dictate what could be put into the containers.

"The area is being used for the activity it was planned for," Gronauer said.

Statistics researched and analyzed by R.C. Costello of R.C. Costello and Associates in California, a company of consulting engineers, detail the scope of damage and injury that could prevail should one of the company's proposed silos explode.

According to Tom Thomas of Thomas & Mack Co., who provided Costello's findings and funded the research, if all the silos are full, the blast from a methanol tank explosion is enough to rupture eardrums and push over wooden telephone poles up to 2,651 feet away; at 1,304 feet, lung damage begins; 1,386 feet is the threshold for fatal injuries; at 1,231 feet, only 50 percent of people caught in the blast will survive; for those in any closer proximity, the fatality rate is approximately 99 percent.

Those numbers spurred managing partner Thomas to speak his piece before the planning commission.

Thomas & Mack Co. is in the process of securing tenants for newly constructed offices for light industrial use 800 feet from Biodiesel's site.

As he spoke before commissioners in the July 9 meeting, the industrial developer expressed concerns about the plant's proposed storage of the chemicals in silo and rail car containers. Plans for the latter, according to Thomas, have since been laid to rest.

"The storage of these two materials (methanol and ethanol) in any form is a concern," he said.

Thomas said that while he realizes the chances of an explosion occurring are slim, the risk is still too great when lives are at stake.

Gronauer said that similar applications have been approved for the storage of hazardous materials in the area and he doesn't understand the concern.

"It shouldn't be an issue, because, again, the land is being used for the purpose it was intended," Gronauer said.

Planning Commissioner Steve Brown voted in favor of the expansion, stating that while there may be minimal risk involved with such a facility, the plant is stationed in a properly zoned region of the city, and it is impossible to live without risk.

"You could be driving on the freeway tomorrow and have a tanker full of gasoline explode next to you. That's more likely than any kind of explosion occurring at the plant," Brown said.

After the company's presentation, Brown said he felt secure with the fact that every precaution will be taken to prevent an accident.

"This isn't a fly-by-night operation," Brown said. "The owners of the plant have been doing business in this town for a long time, and they have the best engineers and safety people working on this project. They have done their homework."

Child and Family Services administrator Diane Comeaux displayed her concern for the well-being of youth housed at Summit View Youth Detention Center, located 300 feet from the proposed storage site, through a letter read by representatives at the meeting.

The center houses 96 misdemeanor offenders from ages 12 to 18 and offers counseling and job training, along with other programs designed to aid youth in the rehabilitation process.

According to Fernando Serrano, deputy administrator for juvenile justice, plant officials have been in touch with the department and are in the process of scheduling a tour of the facility in hopes of addressing concerns.

"We've been offered a tour that will allow us to become educated about the safeguards that are in place," Serrano said. "Should those prove to be satisfactory, then we see no further grounds for objection."

The average age of a Summit View resident is 14, and all are serving time at the center by court order. Most serve just a few months.

"It's just shocking to me that nobody has considered the potential effect on these kids," Thomas said. "If this were a residential dwelling housing three people, this would not be approved. But, because the children at Summit View are inmates of sorts, they're not being viewed in the same light."

When asked about the site's close proximity to the youth detention center, Brown said that he isn't familiar with the history of that specific property but that facilities such as Summit View often are stationed in industrial areas because community members would rail against the construction of such an institution in a residential area.

"People don't want a jail or a detention center in their backyard, no matter how minor the offenders," he said. "I don't know the story behind that facility, but I presume that may be at least part of the reason it's located where it is."

Thomas said that, after the commission's approval, he believes the best possible outcome may now be the compromise of constructing a 10-foot wall or blast barrier along the border of his property. Should an accident occur, the wall would force the vibrations of the explosion upward, preventing them from spreading out over the property and causing damage and/or injury.

"Safety mechanisms are in place, but most of these accidents are due to human error," Thomas said. "Take, for example, what happened on the roof of the Monte Carlo. Human error can't always be prevented."