Letters

Featured Letter: An appeal to reject gas plan

United Riverhead Terminal in Northville plans to convert two of the existing petroleum tanks on its property to gasoline storage tanks. (Credit: Tim Gannon)
United Riverhead Terminal in Northville plans to convert two of the existing petroleum tanks on its property to gasoline storage tanks. (Credit: Tim Gannon)

RIVERHEAD

To the Editor:

I am aware there might be a handful of people in our community who are not opposed to United Riverhead Terminal’s expansion because, as originally reported in this paper, the expansion was supposedly intended for emergency gasoline storage. 

First of all, we have learned from URT and the town that the storage of gasoline will not only be used for emergencies. In fact, this is a business decision in which the terminal intends to run a daily gasoline distribution enterprise in a residential neighborhood with the ability to operate 24 hours a day.

Second, there was no actual gas shortage after Hurricane Sandy. The problem was a lack of electricity. It’s been two years since Sandy and as per the government’s recommendations, not to mention common sense, distributors (such as Atlas Oil, a major distributor along the East Coast) have installed backup generators to make sure they don’t lose business again. And if local gas stations have not upgraded their facilities to include generators, it wouldn’t matter if URT had all of the gas in the world: You cannot pump gas without electricity.

We urge the Riverhead Town Board to reject United Riverhead Terminal’s application for this unnecessary expansion of their operation.

Neil Krupnick