Magellan drops plans for controversial fuel-storage expansion near Adams County elementary school

The Magellan Pipeline Company announced Thursday that it is withdrawing plans for a controversial expansion of its gasoline storage facility across the street from a Commerce City elementary school.

The five additional fuel storage tanks are no longer needed because a customer backed out of a commercial contract, Anell Morrow, a spokeswoman for ONEOK, Magellan’s parent company, wrote in a statement sent to The Denver Post.

“ONEOK will continue to meet customer needs through Magellan’s existing, valuable infrastructure in the area and looks forward to working with stakeholders.” the statement said.

Magellan previously said it needed to expand in order to store reformulated gasoline, which is required for Front Range motorists during the summer ozone season in June, July and August. The company’s permit application had received preliminary approval from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Air Pollution Control Division.

However, the company and the state health department were under fire from the Adams 14 School District, neighborhood residents, Adams County and Commerce City elected officials, and environmentalists, who said the new storage tanks would bring more unwanted air pollution to a community already overburdened by bad air.

The various groups also criticized the company and the health department for failing to communicate plans to them, saying the permit was given preliminary approval in secret. The school district and people who live near the storage site were not aware of the expansion plans until they were first reported by The Denver Post in July.

The Adams 14 Board of Education in August gave approval to its attorney to mount a legal challenge if necessary. And Cultivando, a nonprofit focused on the environment and public health in Commerce City and north Denver, held two community meetings at which neighborhood residents and parents at Dupont Elementary School discussed their strategy for fighting the expansion.

The state’s Air Pollution Control Division had extended the public comment period on the project until Sept. 16 after the complaints. And the division is holding a public listening session from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Eagle Pointe Recreation Center in Commerce City to talk about air quality in the community.

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