Area D Director Tom Siddon met with an RDOS building inspector today on the site of service station trying to get operational on Highway 97 at the north entrance to Okanagan Falls.
Siddon says he has serious concerns about this construction area and wants staff to be very careful in determining whether an above-ground tank system for gasoline is in total compliance with a MOTI back alley right of way and all regulations to do with possible spillage.
He says the tank is too high with a walking structure on top that is marring the view. He says he could have been partially buried and fenced from view.
Siddon told a meeting of concerned citizens that this tank contains 80 thousand litres and is built on a “unstable footing” in his opinion.
One business owner (a neighbor) to the gas station stated that it seems fine as it is and he is looking forward to the completion of the project.
Siddon says the view from travelers heading into town and those from the supermarket/mall is not very desirable – to say the least. The area director says the RDOS is in the middle of funding a study on how to beautify the area but this is not really helping. He pointed to a second service location that has almost completed a professional job of replacing below-grounds tanks just a half mile south. He states they have paid the price for the result.