WILMINGTON — The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality said Wednesday it had granted a Title V air quality permit to CTI of North Carolina Inc. for its newly acquired Wilmington Terminal.
On Dec. 1, Colonial Terminals Inc., a division of Savannah-based Colonial Group Inc., acquired the Buckeye Terminal at 1312 S. Front St. on the Cape Fear River. The terminal, which has about 550,000 barrels of storage capacity, is next to an existing bulk terminal that CTI owns and operates.
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The new air quality permit increases the permit class for the facility from synthetic minor to Title V, which the division said was required due to the ownership change. CTI of North Carolina’s neighboring major source bulk chemical terminal with its own Title V air quality permit at 1002 S. Front St., and the former Buckeye Terminal are now considered a single entity for permitting purposes.
The division said the new permit does not include any physical or operational changes. CTI plans to continue operating the Wilmington Terminal facility with the existing throughput limits and existing control devices, including vapor combustion units that reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds. Emissions will not increase, officials said.
As a major source Title V facility, the Wilmington Terminal, according to the division, is now subject to more frequent inspections and more stringent reporting and recordkeeping requirements. The final permit includes conditions that ensure ambient levels of all pollutants beyond the facility’s fence line comply with emission standards, including applicable health-based standards.
CTI said in December that the deal increased its storage infrastructure in Wilmington to more than a million barrels, 70 acres and over a half mile of river frontage. The terminals store products including industrial and specialty chemicals and petroleum.
“Wilmington is a gateway to the growing Southeastern US market, and we believe this acquisition strongly positions our team to support current and new customer growth far into the future,” said CTI President Ryan Chandler, in the December announcement.
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With the addition of the new facility, CTI now operates seven terminals, five in Georgia and two in Wilmington, with a total liquid capacity of approximately eight million barrels and a total dry capacity of approximately 200,000 tons of vertical storage, 400,000 square feet of covered flat storage, and significant outside storage acreage. Each terminal is strategically located in close proximity to a world-class container port and provides access to ocean and landside (road and rail) logistics networks, as well as global and regional sourcing and distribution pathways.
The division said it conducted enhanced public engagement to solicit comments on a draft of the air permit, sharing project information in English and Spanish with local governments, health departments, places of worship, schools, day cares and community organizations.
Division staff thoroughly reviewed the comments received and addressed all comments in the final permit review, according to the announcement.
Copies of the final permit, final permit review, final environmental justice report, permit application, and a one-page project fact sheet are available online.
