By Dan McCue

CHARLESTON -- Kinder Morgan is helping form a community advisory board to address local concerns over the planned expansion of its coal storage and transportation operation on Shipyard Creek.

According to Lance Richards, mid-Atlantic regional health and safety manager for the company, the plan is to compile a list of interested citizens and for the group to ultimately “take itself over,” electing its own officers and setting its own meeting agenda.

Formation of the group is planned to coincide with a tour of the Kinder Morgan facility for select citizens that’s being planned for late September.

“We’re currently working with some new coal dust suppression equipment and we’d like to have that equipment well in hand before we set a firm date for the tour,” Richards said.

Earlier this year, Kinder Morgan applied for a permit from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, seeking permission to increase the amount of coal it traffics through the Charleston region from its Milford Street facility from 3.5 million to 10 million tons a year.

The resulting coal pile waiting to be loaded onto mile-long trains could at times, by the company’s own estimate, be as much as 80 feet high and cover nearly 20 acres.

“Given the interest that this project has inspired in the community, opening a better line of communication to those concerned is probably a little overdue,” Richards said.

“I can tell you, since word of this advisory group first started spreading in the community, we’ve been hearing from a lot of interested parties,” he continued. “We’re glad there’s so much interest.”

Just last week, DHEC sent a notice to residents who had attended one or both of the community meetings held in relation to the permit request, informing them that the state is taking extra precautions to ensure the operation doesn’t compromise the public’s health.

Officials said they would soon be setting up air monitors around the facility and are also planning to increase the number of storm water inspections they do at the 208-acre facility.

Anyone interested in participating on the community advisory committee should e-mail Richards at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .