An Austin City Council member plans to introduce a resolution to move the site of a planned jet fuel depot set to be built on Austin-Bergstrom International Airport property but within walking distance of Southeast Austin homes and businesses. 

The resolution from District 2 Council Member Vanessa Fuentes will be on the April 7 council meeting agenda and, if passed, would also require airport officials to conduct an environmental justice analysis, along with "robust community engagement."

More: Jet fuel tanks are going up near a Southeast Austin community. Now, neighbors are taking action

On a city public message board Friday, Fuentes acknowledged that the selection of the proposed fuel depot site — along U.S. 183 between McCall Lane and Metropolis Drive — underwent the required federal, state and local permitting and processes, but said "serious concerns about how they took place" remain.  

"Specifically, the initial environmental assessment for the proposed site was selected without public input," Fuentes stated on the message board. "The draft was not available to the public before finalizing and publishing and the assessment failed to conduct a substantive Environmental Justice analysis that took into account the surrounding residents."

She added that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "guidance documents recognize the need for meaningful engagement with the affected community, particularly where those communities are Environmental Justice communities before decisions are made regarding a development that may affect those communities."

Fuentes wrote: "There needs to be corrective action and new expectations for the public engagement process. We are at a pivotal point."

In an emailed statement to the American-Statesman on Monday, Austin airport leaders said the Department of Aviation is coordinating with the City Council on the next steps for the project after the April 7 council meeting.  

"Understanding the city’s history of policies and decisions that perpetuated a legacy of environmental injustice is crucial to making equitable and sound decisions for today and the future. The Department of Aviation understands and is committed to environmental suitability as a city department," the statement says. "Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is the world’s gateway to Central Texas. Every bit of space of the on-airport property is critical for us to deliver a safe and reliable operation. The proposed new fuel facility is a vital component of the daily operations of our airport. It is a priority project that addresses the critical need for more fuel storage capacity to support our increased air service and strong demand for air travel."

The proposed resolution by Fuentes comes after multiple community meetings and letters sent to council members from Austin residents opposing and protesting the construction of the facility. Several residents on McCall Lane told the American-Statesman they were never notified that the planned facility would be built. 

Earlier this month, during a community meeting with Mayor Steve Adler, council members and airport officials, including airport CEO Jacqueline Yaft, more than 40 residents packed the Travis County Precinct 4 courtroom to speak against the construction of the facility.

'This is wrong': Southeast Austin residents want city to move planned jet fuel tank farm

Amanda Carrillo, a resident of McCall Lane who in October knocked on her neighbors' doors to alert them to the project and who gathered signatures and letters in protest that were sent to the mayor and council members over the past few months, told the American-Statesman on Monday that the proposed resolution validates residents' concerns. 

"I have hope. This gives us the opportunity to be heard because these are our homes. ... We were here first," Carrillo said. "This is taking into account our health and the fact that we want to live in a healthy environment. This is about our families."

The relocation of the planned jet fuel facility would require another site feasibility and selection process to be conducted; design and permitting work would need to be redone, and a new environmental assessment would have to be conducted, airport officials said. 

In a memorandum sent to Adler and council members Thursday, Yaft said, "The Department of Aviation acknowledges that any further analysis will lead to no alternative site meeting the screening criteria."

The current planned location for the jet fuel facility was "carefully considered using a site selection matrix that evaluated: Land Development Code compatibility; Operational requirements and transfer line feasibility; Future airport development compatibility; Existing airport development and operations; Environmental safety; and Airspace and Federal Aviation Administration facilities." Yaft wrote in the memo. 

The planned above-ground jet fuel storage facility, which is part of an ongoing expansion at the airport, is set to have two tanks, each storing 1.5 million gallons of jet fuel. 

An environmental assessment was conducted for the planned facility, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The FAA approved the assessment April 8, 2020. 

Unless the resolution is approved, construction of the tanks is set to begin this spring and is expected to be completed within two years.

Fuentes on Friday noted Austin's previous history of environmental injustice and racism.

For years, residents of a predominately Latino and Black neighborhood in East Austin were exposed to pollutants from a similar fuel tank farm.

Six oil companies stored enough gasoline at that tank farm — then located near Airport Boulevard and Springdale Road — to fuel all of Austin, environmental activists and former residents of that area said. In the 1990s, Black and Latino grassroots environmental organizations played a prominent role in the closure of the tank farm. It took more than a decade of remediation before the site was deemed usable again.

In her memorandum, Yaft highlighted the differences between the tank farm in East Austin and the planned jet fuel facility. 

The East Austin petroleum storage tanks did not have adequate safety designs and inspections, and they were owned and operated by several different private oil and gas companies, Yaft wrote. 

"The only physical boundary between many homes and the gasoline tank farm was a simple chain link fence," Yaft added. "The Jet-A fuel storage facility is a modern, regulated and inspected operation to achieve the highest level of safety, security and reliability." 

Yaft wrote that the planned facility is owned and operated by airport airlines and their fueling service contractor. It will be routinely inspected by the Austin Fire Department, the Department of Aviation and the Department of Watershed Protection.

Four highway lanes, a grass median and the airport perimeter fence will separate the facility from the closest homes and businesses, she wrote, adding that the tanks will store Jet-A fuel, which is less volatile than gasoline.

"The Department of Aviation recognizes the historic injustice endured by East Austinites who lived near the East Austin petroleum storage tanks," Yaft stated, "and is committed to working with community members, the facility owners and operators, regulatory agencies and experts to ensure the Jet-A Fuel Storage Facility is a safe operation."

As of Monday, Council Members Kathie Tovo of District 9 and Chito Vela of District 4 had expressed support for Fuentes' resolution on the public message board. 

Tovo asked to co-sponsor the resolution and Vela said the fuel tank expansion should be limited "only to its current footprint for now."

"The echoes of the 1990s tank farm fight make the discussion very sensitive and difficult," Vela said. "I do not want to put the community through a divisive and difficult fight over the jet fuel storage tanks. I want to heal the scars of environmental racism and build trust."

An Austin City Council work session where the planned airport jet fuel tank facility will be discussed is set for April 5. 

The proposed resolution will be presented during the April 7 council meeting. 

To make a public comment on the issue, residents can go to www.austintexas.gov/department/public-participation-council-meetings or call 512-974-2210 or reach the office of District 2 Council Member Vanessa Fuentes at District2@austintexas.gov  or call 512-978-2102.

Austin American-Statesman reporter Natalia Contreras can be reached at 512-626-4036 or ncontreras@statesman.com. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook, @NataliaECG.