Fuel Farm Fight in Ormond Beach Continues

By Cathy Padilla

Belvedere Terminals was back in the Volusia County Courthouse Annex in Daytona Beach on January 30 for a hearing after suing Volusia County and alleging the county violated its property rights. The company is proposing a huge fuel farm facility in the Ormond Beach area, something residents and town and county officials alike are fighting due to concerns over health and safety.

In Tuesday's hearing, an attorney representing Belvedere filed a motion asking the circuit judge to grant a temporary injunction. The injunction would force the county to process Belvedere's site application despite having denied it, citing a development moratorium that is currently in place and pending final approval. During the hearing, Belvedere's attorney argued the county failed to provide a 10-day notice before voting on the moratorium and that the vote was targeted toward the company. The judge denied the motion.

For now, the county does not have to accept Belvedere's application. At next week's county council meeting, the county will vote on an official 9-month development moratorium that would include the site in question - 60 vacant acres west of U.S. Route 1 near the railroad tracks off Hull Road. Back in September, Ormond Beach officials voted not to provide utilities for the proposed fuel terminal.

Belvedere Terminals is creating a fuel distribution system in Florida with several sites, including Ormond Beach, in their plans. It would include an above-ground tank farm consisting of 16 tanks holding up to 20 million gallons of fuel. Some of the tanks would be as high as 40 feet tall and it would have multiple loading bays to transfer fuel from trains to tanker trucks.