It is hard to imagine that in New Hampshire, where local control is supposed to be king, state government would permit a large hazardous-material handling facility to be located in the heart of downtown West Lebanon without city land-use review or consent. But that is precisely what occurred, according to city officials, who only recently have begun to grapple with the full ramifications of the presence of a Rymes Propane and Oil off-loading facility in the Westboro Rail Yard.

Among those ramifications is a catastrophic worst-case scenario described by Fire Chief Chris Christopoulos at a City Council meeting last week in which the explosion of a rail car carrying a full load of propane could kill up to 500 people within a 1,560-foot perimeter around the site. Although he added that safeguards are in place to minimize the risk, that assurance was probably of little comfort to those living in the area. (This “blast zone” came to the attention of city officials when they learned that its presence could impede federally funded development projects in West Lebanon, according to reporting by staff writer Tim Camerato.)

The Westboro Rail Yard is owned by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, which acquired it in 1998 and leases it to New England Central Railroad, which is itself a subsidiary of the Connecticut-based Genessee & Wyoming Railroad. Rymes in turn leases its site from New England Central and has operated the propane transfer facility there since 2010. In 2016, the city’s cut of the lease revenue for hosting the facility amounted to a little over $4,000, less than a modest house in West Lebanon yields in property taxes each year. If that strikes you as a potentially high-risk, low-reward proposition, you are not alone.

Because the Rymes facility is located on state land, it was exempt from city planning or zoning review, according to Christopoulos. In fact, Assistant Mayor Tim McNamara says, the DOT held no public meetings and did not invite City Council involvement before the facility opened. “It’s been absolutely irresponsible of the New Hampshire DOT not to involve the community more fully in this,” he said.

But since it did not, it’s past time for the community to involve itself, whether the DOT welcomes it or not. For many years, the department has, in a high-handed manner, stymied redevelopment of the 13-acre Westboro yard, a prime site along the Connecticut River that could be home to extensive amenities that enhance the life of the city, not threaten it. The council and the city’s legislative delegation ought to urgently demand a public meeting with state officials to get some answers. Among the questions: Who negotiated and who approved the current lease arrangement and what safety review was conducted before it was signed? Why were city officials and the public bypassed? Who benefits financially from this arrangement and to what extent? Why has the state failed to cooperate in cleaning up what many Lebanon residents consider an eyesore and turning the Westboro yard into a vibrant community asset?

The state’s 10-year lease with New England Central expires in 2020, and the current agreement allows the parties to negotiate a 10-year extension before then, Camerato has reported. Lebanon officials and state legislators should insist that the city is not merely consulted but plays an active role in that new negotiation to ensure that the interests of Lebanon residents are represented at the table.