To relieve what some say is a severe shortage of oil-storage capacity in Rhode Island, state officials are eyeing the possible purchase of two dozen defunct oil tanks owned by the U.S. Navy near Middletown.
The Rhode Island House last month approved a special commission to explore the possibility of purchasing the tanks to store “strategic oil reserves.” The Navy owns 24 underground tanks spread across three tank farms on a 180-acre stretch of coastline near the Naval station.
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The tanks, which have not been used since 1998, have a combined capacity of 34 million gallons, according to David Sanders, public affairs officer for Naval Station Newport. Sanders said the Navy’s short-term plan is to clean up the tanks and determine if they’re usable.
Rep. Raymond Gallison, D-Bristol, sponsored legislation to create the 14-member commission after learning about the storage tanks during a tour of Navy facilities. Gallison said he knew, through talking to his home-heating oil dealer, that there appears to be a shortage of oil-storage tanks in the state.
After writing a letter to Navy officials inquiring about the storage farms, Gallison learned that the Navy has fielded similar questions from other government officials — including Sen. Jack Reed’s office and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, according to a Navy letter.
“I looked at the fact that there’s an apparent shortage of storage capacity, that these tanks are sitting there unused and that both state and federal government have already looked at this issue,” Gallison said. “I felt it would be best to get everybody on the same page, so we don’t have competing interests.”
The commission, which was approved by a House resolution but has yet to be assembled, will “study the feasibility of acquiring” the tanks. Although the resolution refers to “surplus” storage tanks, Sanders said the Navy as of now has no plans to declare them surplus property.
Victor Allienello, chairman of the board of the Oil Heat Institute in Providence, said something should be done to alleviate the shortage of oil-storage capacity in the state.
“There’s been a lack of storage for the last 10 years,” said Allienello, who is also president of the East Providence Fuel Co., which sells home-heating oil to residential customers. “I don’t think people understand the severity of the problem.”
Rhode Island had roughly 300 million gallons of storage capacity as recently as the early 1980s, according to the Oil Heat Institute. Now, the state’s storage capacity has dropped to a little more than 100 million gallons.
“Part of the problem is you’ve got all these oil companies consolidating, and they’ve left storage tanks sitting there unused,” Allienello said. “How long will it be before the state picks up some of these tanks that could be used?”
Moreover, the state faces a problem on the supply end, Allienello said, because large oil tankers aren’t able to make their way up the Providence River to unload oil supplies. He said the river should be dredged to solve the problem.
The special House commission is to consist of five house representatives and officials from the towns of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth. Other commission members are to include a representative from the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, a private oil dealer and members of various state government offices.
Kelly Woodward, coordinator of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, said that commission would consider the storage-tank issue as it develops a comprehensive master plan for the island’s west side.
