Morro Bay considers demolition of jet fuel tanks

The city of Morro Bay is processing an application to remove two large jet fuel storage tanks and a water storage tank from a site in the hills above the city.

The 10-acre site at 3300 Panorama Drive dates to the 1960s when the Navy operated a jet fuel storage and distribution facility at the site. The facility was closed in 1991.

Because the project is in the permitting phase, no date for the start of work has been set, said Scot Graham, Morro Bay Community Development Director. However, the work is expected to take two months to complete and will involve 40 to 50 round trips by trucks.

While most of the neighbors of the tank site support the removals, an informal group of Morro Bay residents, calling itself the Morro Bay Stakeholders, has raised a number of concerns about the project. They want the city to require a performance bond from the property owners, Rhine L.P. and CVI Group LLC of Fresno.

“There are other issues such as monitoring the various biological, environmental and infrastructure impacts that will arise, but right now our primary concern is to get the performance bond either voluntarily from the applicant or that it be a requirement of the city of Morro Bay Community Development Department,” said Ed Griggs, a member of the stakeholders group, in an email to The Tribune.

In addition to removing the tanks, all associated pumps and piping — both above and below ground — will be removed. Five trees, mostly Monterey cypress, will also be removed.

This story was originally published November 20, 2016 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Morro Bay considers demolition of jet fuel tanks."