Omnitrans to resolve explosion potential

SAN BERNARDINO – A two decades-long controversy over the potential for an explosion of two liquid natural gas storage tanks at Omnitrans’ maintenance facility on West Fifth Street has been resolved. West Side residents have long complained about leaking LNG as indicated by the natural gas odors during fueling activities at the facility. Earlier this year, there were two incidences, one that forced the evacuation of the employees at the bus facility. Residents of the immediate area complained they were not notified and neither was staff at the nearby Ramona Alessandro Elementary School. Last year, the local school board called for the removal of the tanks. Omnitrans announced Tuesday it will remove two, 30,000 gallon LNG tanks and replace them with a pipeline. The transition should be complete by June 2016. A recent report conducted for Omnitrans stated, “The facility’s tanks and its operation are state-of-the-art. Explosions are still possible, but extremely unlikely.” It goes on to state that if an explosion were to happen “the 95% potential injury scenarios may extend up to 880 feet from the facility boundary and 95% scenarios with the potential for severe injury may extend up to 175 feet from the facility boundary. “