Merrimack Valley Transit—MeVa, for short—received approval Tuesday from the Haverhill City Council to license both above- and below-ground fuel tanks at its Railroad Avenue bus garage near the Bradford commuter rail station.
The rather routine flammables permit became a history lesson with documents showing the site holding licenses going back to 1925 when it was in the hands of the private sector. Councilors updated and consolidated two handwritten permit applications given to the city’s then-aldermen—one in 1925 for two tanks and one in 1926 for five steel tanks—sought by the George D. Currier Co., of Railroad Avenue. Receipts, acknowledging both applications, was signed by then-City Clerk William W. Roberts.
The City Council approved a new 22,000-gallon, above-ground diesel tank, and reauthorized a 22,000-gallon underground gasoline tank at 123 Railroad Ave. According to state Department of Environmental Protection data, the diesel tank was installed on June 1, 1984, while the gasoline tank was installed on Dec. 1, 1990.
Robert P. Coluccio, of Scituate-based Web Engineering Associates, explained the urgency.
“The diesel tank has gotten quite old and they’re concerned about it. They’re right on the river. They’re doing some renovations over there and they thought this was a good time to replace that diesel tank,” he explained.
Coluccio said the next step is to design the new tank, which will need state fire services approval. He notes that the above-ground tank, which will be double-walled to prevent leakage and anchored to the ground to protect from flooding, is more environmentally friendly. Coluccio answering resident Donna McCarron concern about potential fire.
“The tank itself is what’s called a fire-protected tank. That means that it’s double walled, but in between the two walls, it has an insulative material. We get to label that a UL2850 tank because it means that the tank will withstand a liquid pool fire under the tank for up to four hours. So, if there is a fire around the tank, the fire department has four hours to control that fire. That’s an intense fire pool, not exactly a liquid pool fire you would see in this situation,” he said.
A question about flooding, since the site is near the Merrimack River, was also raised. Coluccio responded, “The tank won’t collapse. The tank is on pedestals and on cradles.”
Besides the new above-ground diesel tank, the scope of work includes removal of the of the old diesel tank and construction of a new retaining wall.
Edward Nutter, MeVa facilities manager told councilors the quasi-public authority determined the outside tank is safer and best for the environment.