A majority of city councilors appear to support an amendment to South Portland’s fire codes that would require any new propane distribution facility to be located outside a minimum safe distance from critical infrastructure.

Such a change could have negative consequences for a proposed liquid propane distribution facility at the Rigby Rail Yard, which is not far from the city’s Cash Corner fire station.

NGL Supply Co. wants to move its operations from the Portland waterfront to South Portland’s rail yard. However, in addition to possibly being subject to the new fire code amendment, the project may also be subject to a pending moratorium.

On Jan. 12, the South Portland Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on a moratorium that would prevent the NGL project from moving forward for at least another six months.

The moratorium is necessary, according to proponents, including newly elected City Councilor Eben Rose, because the liquid propane project is not allowed under the city’s zoning laws.

The moratorium requires a supermajority vote of five yeas on final reading at the council level, but did receive the support of a simple majority during a first reading held on Dec. 21.

During a workshop session last week the City Council asked staff to keep the “meat and bones” of a citizen-authored proposal to amend the fire code, while “tweaking as necessary” to ensure the language conforms with the rest of the code of ordinances, according to Mayor Tom Blake.

He said city staff was asked to make the review of the proposed fire code amendment as “expediently as possible,” and this week Blake said it’s possible the new language could come before the council at an upcoming regular meeting, without going back to workshop first.

The information provided to the City Council by residents concerned with a new liquid propane distribution facility, states that the “existing South Portland Fire Code does not adequately address” a number of safety concerns.

In the materials provided to the council at its Dec. 28 workshop residents argued that other communities across the country and around the world have been devastated by fossil fuel explosions or accidents and it only makes sense to protect South Portland from similar events as much as possible.

Under the proposed fire code amendment, “No commercial propane distribution facility built after Nov. 9, 2015, shall be permitted to operate without a new municipal fire permit and no permit shall be … issued to any (such facility) … located less than 1,257 feet from any critical infrastructure.”

The material provided by the concerned citizens goes on to state that, “Critical infrastructure includes most basic government buildings as well as hospitals (and) schools and (also) includes flammable fuel storage facilities with a capacity of 25,000 gallons or more.”

And the materials state that, “The concept of safe distance is used in many settings to provide some minimum level of protection from fire or risk of explosions or other dangers.”

The buffer is “meant to ensure that your emergency responders are a safe distance away from any worst-case scenarios, (such as) spills or explosions,” proponent Devin Deane, of Thirlmere Avenue, told the council.

Other changes to the fire code would include updating the ordinance to better align with National Fire Protection Association standards.

At the Dec. 28 workshop, Blake said, “Tonight is to talk about setbacks for critical infrastructure in our community.” And while the NGL project might bear the brunt of the amendment, he said, the amendments should be pursued.

But other councilors and some residents said the proposed language is an overt effort to single out NGL’s application.

“Everybody in this room knows that this legislation was drafted by the same people behind the moratorium that we were considering a couple weeks ago,” said Ross Little, a member of the Economic Development Committee.

“It purports to be one thing when it’s really trying to get at something else. It’s deceptive, (and) I’m concerned about the process that has brought us here to this point,” Little added.

In a statement sent to the Current following last week’s workshop, Kevin Fitzgerald, regional operations manager for NGL Energy Partners, said the “claims being made in the draft (fire code amendment) are frequently dated, irrelevant and not based on sound science.”

Alex Acquisto from Sun Media Wire contributed to this story.