Brisbane residents, officials grill Kinder Morgan official over fuel storage tanks

The City Council fretted over the safety record of energy storage giant Kinder Morgan at a Monday night presentation by the company, which owns 21 enormous fuel storage tanks in Brisbane.

Recent disasters, at home and abroad, have raised alarms in Brisbane as residents and officials pause to consider the towering fuel terminal out on the Baylands -- and how little is known about it. What began as a straightforward presentation turned into a verbal assault as residents accused Kinder Morgan of polluting their town. Residents also berated city officials for their lack of oversight.

Kinder Morgan pipes gasoline, diesel, crude oil and ethanol between its terminals in Richmond and Brisbane via two pipelines that run underneath San Francisco Bay. The Brisbane terminal stores up to 700,000 gallons of fuel and sends it to San Francisco International Airport as well as local gas stations.

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