Zoning commission denies rehearing request to allow fuel transfer station in south Bibb County

The Macon-Bibb County zoning commission denied a request for the rehearing of an application that would allow a rail terminal and ethanol fuel transfer station.

Houston, Texas-based Epic Midstream received approval in November from the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission to rezone about 50 acres at 2048 Barnes Ferry Road from an agricultural district to a wholesale and light industrial district. The site would be combined with an adjacent 30-acre site that was already zoned for industrial uses.

At that meeting, however, the commission denied a conditional-use permit on the site to allow a rail spur to transfer ethanol from Norfolk Southern rail cars to Epic's pipeline.

During Monday's meeting, after a presentation by attorney Robert Lovett representing Epic, who presented several proposed changes to the company's plans, the commission was not convinced it was enough to warrant another hearing.

"My problem is with the product," said Commissioner Jeane Easom. "The more I learn about ethanol, the more concerned I became with it being in this residential area."

For more on this story, come back to macon.com or read Tuesday's Telegraph.

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Zoning commission denies rehearing request to allow fuel transfer station in south Bibb County ."