Dealing with the tank farm

Over the last month or so, we've seen increased attention to the Fairfax City tank farm. This has been a result of two overturned tankers, both of which leaked petroleum products. City, County and state authorities all handled the situation with great care and professionalism and there has not been any significant negative effect on the environment.

Yet, the tanker spills as well as City residents rightfully concerned about BP removing trees that acted as a screen and increased noise from their ethanol pumps, has brought to a head the issues related to the tank farm.

The tank farm has been a thorn in the City's side for years. Between the major spill that affected the Mantua neighborhood in the County to the potential for an environmental disaster, this piece of property has created a host of problems for elected officials and residents alike.

That said, the tank farm was built during a time when the area around it was sparsely populated. The facilities it houses also serve as a critical link in the distribution of petroleum products in Northern Virginia and along the east coast. I don't see it going away anytime soon.

But we do need to find additional ways that the City, County, state and federal officials can work together to regulate the facility and ensure that it is as safe and secure as possible.

Thanks to Mayor Rob Lederer's leadership, there is a meeting this Saturday, October 9 at 8 a.m. in City Hall where elected officials and staff from the City and County will be joined by our state representatives, Sen. Chap Petersen and Del. David Bulova along with Congressman Gerry Connolly.

I'm hoping that at this meeting we will learn more about what we can do to ensure that the tank farm is good corporate citizen to the City as well as the County. I also would like to see coming out of this meeting an agreement among City and County leaders for a unified position in asking the state to grant more authority to the City to regulate the tank farm and other measures.

This issue isn't going away and it's time we collectively put our arms around it and working with our partners find solutions that will benefit all of our residents.