Diesel Fuel Tank Proposed For School Bus Lot

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has slated a public hearing for Thursday, November 1, on a transportation firm’s proposal to install a fuel storage tank at an industrial site at 31 Peck’s Lane.

The session is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm at Newtown Municipal Center at 3 Primrose Street.

Applicant All-Star Transportation LLC, the firm that provides local school bus service, is seeking a special zoning permit from the P&Z to place a 5,000-gallon above-ground diesel fuel storage tank on the southeast corner of the 24-acre lot in a M-1 (Industrial) zone. The bus company parks its vehicles at the site.

The site is owned by Tier One Real Estate Inc. The town government had its offices in a building at the property before moving to Fairfield Hills in 2009.

 At an October 24 session, the town Aquifer Protection Agency (APA) unanimously endorsed the fuel tank proposal, finding that it would have no significant adverse effect on the underlying Pootatuck Aquifer.

All-Star proposes that a horizontal, cylindrical, double-walled fuel tank be positioned on skids. The tank would be used to refuel buses.

In an August 17 letter to Rob Sibley, the town deputy director of planning and land use, Jonathan Curina, a senior environmental engineer for Fuss & O’Neill of Trumbull, wrote, “Provided the tank system/components are manufactured/installed per industry standard and operated in accordance with applicable best management practices, the potential short-term and long-term impact to the environment and aquifer are negligible.”

Fuss & O’Neill, a engineering consulting firm, represents All-Star.