WEST LEBANON — Rymes Propane & Oil could continue off-loading and storing propane inside the Westboro Rail Yard for another 25 years if the state agrees to extend its lease of the West Lebanon property.
Rymes and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation submitted an application last month requesting the propane company continue using a 65,100-square-foot section of the historic rail yard for the next five to 25 years. The company’s operation inside the yard has proven controversial among some residents and officials, who fear the damage of an explosion there could prove disasterous for the businesses and residents in the surrounding downtown community.
A new lease “will allow for long-term use and improvements to the facilities that increase railroad traffic and enhance economic development,” the application said.
Those upgrades could include a new structure for transferring fuel and a pad for short-term propane storage, according to the application, which doesn’t offer further details on potential construction.
The agreement will be reviewed next month by the Council on Resources and Development, a body of state agency leaders, and ultimately will require approval from the governor and Executive Council to take effect.
John Rymes, the company’s vice president, declined to comment on the application or future plans for the site on Monday.
News of the application comes as city officials celebrate the inclusion of $570,000 earmarked for cleanup of the rail yard in Gov. Chris Sununu’s proposed budget.
The money would be used to demolish four deteriorating buildings inside the yard and to fund an environmental remediation effort that advocates hope will lead someday to the creation of a park.
“My budget makes strategic, fiscally responsible investments that will serve to strengthen New Hampshire communities,” Sununu said in an emailed statement last week. “It is thanks to our strategic fiscal management that we are able to invest these funds into the betterment of cities and towns across the Granite State, which is why I am committed to working with the City of Lebanon to rehabilitate the Westboro Railyard.”
Mayor Sue Prentiss said on Tuesday the announcement is the result of a yearslong effort by city councilors, lawmakers and Executive Councilor Mike Cryans to lobby for cleanup of the property.
“I think the governor’s office really came through for the city of Lebanon by including this in his budget,” she said. “This is the most promising development we’ve had in a long time.”
Rob Taylor, executive director of the Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce, also praised the spending proposal.
“I’m encouraged. Thank you Gov. Sununu for putting it in (the budget), and hopefully it will get final approval,” said Taylor, who sent a letter to Sununu advocating for demolition of the rail buildings in 2017.
The city’s leaders have pressed for cleanup and safety improvements in the rail yard since September 2017, when Lebanon Fire Chief Chris Christopoulos told councilors that the damage from an explosion at the Rymes site could prove “potentially fatal” for 492 people living within a 1,560-foot radius.
Rymes has operated its off-loading facility in the rail yard for more than eight years. The operation consists of three “trans-loaders,” portable pieces of equipment that move fuel between rail cars, delivery trucks and on-site storage tanks.
There are also two tanks on the property capable of holding roughly 12,000 gallons of fuel, as well as 12 to 15 rail cars holding 405,000 gallons of propane can be parked there at a given time, according to the fire chief.
The Rymes operation is made possible through a 2012 lease with the Claremont Concord Railroad, which in turn leases the section of rail from the state Department of Transportation.
Rymes also has a separate temporary use agreement with the state for use of the Westboro land, which is what the company now hopes to extend past a May 31 expiration date.
City Manager Shaun Mulholland told the City Council last week that they should advocate for two safety measures — the installation of flame detection technology and mounding of two yet-to-be used propane tanks on the property capable of holding 100,000 gallons of fuel.
“We would like to be able to have our own regulations, our local regulations be applicable to any type of structures that are build there, any types of activities,” Mulholland told the City Council in an audio recording of the meeting. “It’s our plan to ask for those things whether we’ll get them or not. We probably won’t, but we think we need to activate on behalf of our citizens.”
The council is expected to discuss its response to the application during its March 6 meeting, and the group’s comments are due to the state by March 11.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews .com or 603-727-3223.