Consumers Gas plans new storage facility for Clear River Drive

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BURRILLVILLE – A Woonsocket-based fuel company is expanding their business and has plans on file to build a propane storage facility and office on a 9.75 acre lot on Clear River Drive.

Woonsocket Consumers Coal, Inc. hopes to store two 30,000 gallon tanks of propane on the property, owned by Rodrick Timpany of Donahue Road, to be shipped out daily to customers. The project will disturb less than an acre of land according to plans submitted to the town, and will retain wetlands to the east and southwest sides.

“We retail to home delivery and commercial delivery,” said Consumers Manager Jeremy Caouette. “No customer will come in there with any type of tank and ask me to fill it.”

Caouette told planners his company intends to deliver about one 2,800 gallon truck of the fuel a day from the property, and that all of the vehicles are up to date, newer and safe. A business out of Uxbridge, Mass., he said, does the hauling.

“They pull in they unload and they take off,” Caouette said. “I thought it was a good area off the beaten path.”

Planner Bruce Ferreira agreed, “It’s a good place for it.”

Members of the board questioned if there were safety or environmental concerns associated with the project.

“There’s no environmental concerns with propane. Propane is environmentally safe,” said Troy Phillips, the contractor for the project. “There’s no environmental impact.”

Phillips also explained that there has been no catastrophic incident with the gas since 2011, when compliance standards changed.

“Accidents with propane happen on the highway,” he said.

The tanks would be nine-feet-long and stored three feet off the ground on a concrete pad surrounded by a six-foot-high chain link fence, according to plans prepared by engineers from Marc Nyberg Associates, Inc. The project would include an area for truck turnaround and an office for 2-3 employees.

Phillips later told NRI NOW that the proposed Burrillville storage facility would be the companies fourth, with three currently located in Woonsocket.

“I think they did a good job of explaining what they want to do there,” Planner Michael Lupis said of the project.

The Planning Board voted unanimously on Monday, May 7 that the concept is consistent with the town’s comprehensive plan. The project must still go through the development plan review process and go before the town’s Zoning Board for a special use permit.

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