Philly oil tank farm will be demolished to make way for warehouse complex

A New Jersey-based company plans to raze a petrochemical tank farm on a highly industrialized stretch of West Passyunk Avenue in Southwest Philly and build a large warehouse operation there.

But the plan has drawn concern from an environmental group because of what it says is the potential to pollute wetlands along the Schuylkill, threaten an "imperiled" turtle, and continue blocking residents from accessing the river.

The Clean Air Council, a nonprofit environmental group, calls the project by BP Point Breeze LLC "a missed opportunity" that could have replaced fossil fuel infrastructure with something more environmentally positive. Instead, the nonprofit environmental group says the "modern cross-dock warehouse" planned along the west bank of the Schuylkill would result in storm water runoff from a large parking area into wetlands.

Russell Zerbo, an advocate at the Clean Air Council, calls the project yet another commercial venture that failed to take local residents into consideration by providing river access. And he said the number of trucks and cars going in and out of the facility would amount to more local pollution.

BP Point Breeze LLC was formed by the real estate developer Bridge Industrial. Bridge Industrial said in a statement to The Inquirer that it plans a "a first-class, LEED-certified warehouse facility" and would address environmental concerns. (LEED certification is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council for energy efficiency.)

In filings with the state, Bridge Industrial said the warehouse would fill a growing commercial need and provide jobs. It notes that the location near I-76 and I-95 is ideal. The company's plans call for construction of a 487,000-square-foot warehouse and elimination of 1.43 acres of wetlands listed as "exceptional value" by the state and the creation of new wetlands of a similar size elsewhere as compensation.

The Clean Air Council contends that the new wetlands would not be an adequate replacement and that the area serves as habitat for the northern red-bellied cooter turtle, a threatened species that's also one of Pennsylvania's largest turtles. The state lists the red-belly as imperiled. The group has started a petition against the project, further contending that storm water from the parking lot would flow into wetlands and turtle habitat and that soil contaminated by nearly 100 years of fossil fuel handling could be disturbed.

Bridge Industrial, based in Parsippany, N.J., bought the property from Kinder Morgan Liquids Terminals LLC in May for $22.5 million, according to public records. Houston-based Kinder Morgan is one of the largest pipeline companies in the U.S., and one of those pipelines is clearly visible as it runs across the front of the property.

"Bridge is proud of our history of taking legacy industrial sites and redeveloping them into projects which create hundreds of construction and permanent jobs that support the individuals and families of these respective regions," the company said in its statement.

"We have engaged qualified regional and national consultants to address any environmental considerations through best practices. Further, our team is coordinating ways to create an improved habitat for all native species of plants and animals, as we understand the importance of prioritizing the ecological health of the area in addition to its economic vitality."

The company noted that it early in the development process but looks "forward to working with various partners and stakeholders" in the city.

The tank farm has been a feature of Southwest Philadelphia since at least 1930. Most recently, Kinder Morgan operated eight tanks ranging from 55,000 to 80,000 barrels on the site to store biodiesel, ethanol, gasoline, and ultralow sulfur diesel received from the Colonial and Sun pipelines.

The property, now owned by Bridge Industrial, doesn't need a city zoning change because it fits within the current industrial zone. But the warehouse project does need approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which recently closed public comments on the company's permit application. No decision date has been announced. The project also needs further review by the State Fish and Boat Commission because of the turtles.

In 2016, the DEP penalized Kinder Morgan $175,000 relating to storm water violations in structures designed to prevent contamination from spilling into the environment, which included the exceptional value wetlands. And in 2019, a fire between two tanks on the property caused a two-alarm blaze that lead to the facility's evacuation. No one was hurt.

The decommissioned facility is across the Schuylkill from the former PES refinery, which caught fire and exploded, also in 2019. That refinery has been mostly dismantled by Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) for what the company has marketed as the Bellwether District, a planned 1,300-acre commercial hub. Philadelphia's Air Management Services recently granted HRP a permit to continue operating a tank farm on another section of the property, despite objections from community groups.

Besides storage tanks, the Bridge Industrial property that's slated to become a warehouse contains basins for spill containment, an array of piping, roads, parking areas, a fuel station, and office buildings.

In its permit application to the DEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bridge Industrial said it planned to turn the existing complex into a "modern cross-dock distribution warehouse" because there is "an increased need for modern logistics facilities" in the region. The application said the project would "not only repurpose a decommissioned industrial site but also provide family-sustaining jobs." It did not specify the number of jobs.

A typical cross-docking warehouse receives an array of products shipped in by truck on one side of the facility. The products are sorted, then shipped directly to a retailer through a port on the other side. The arrangement is considered cost efficient because products spend less time — or no time — in storage, and move more rapidly to consumers.

In addition to the warehouse, plans call for 244 employee parking spots, 95 trailer storage spaces, and a drainage basin. Bridge Industrial would demolish and clean up the decommissioned petrochemical infrastructure.

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Bridge Industrial also had to file a notice of potential impact on the area with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission because of "potential impacts to threatened and endangered and/or special concern species … within the project area."

The red-bellied cooter was once common along the Delaware and its tributaries, including the Schuylkill. But the species has been nearly eliminated because of pollution and habitat destruction. It prefers fresh or brackish deep-water bodies and likes to bask on downed trees. It travels inland for breeding and grows to about 10½ inches but has been found as long as 16 inches.

Bryon DuBois, a biologist hired by Bridge Industrial, stated in the permit application that he spotted a northern-red bellied cooter basking in the Schuylkill in May near the proposed warehouse site and found evidence of nests. The biologist, however, "determined that the project is not likely to adversely affect the northern red-bellied cooter or their habitat."

But Zerbo, with the Clean Air Council, said the fact that the biologist found the turtles and is re-creating wetlands to support it shows that the species would be impacted.