Odfjell Terminals Charleston Site Development

The Client

Odfjell Terminals (Charleston) LLC is a premier distribution terminal serving the bulk liquid and specialty chemical, vegetable oil and petroleum industry in the southeastern United States.

The Challenge

The facility will receive, store and transfer liquid products for Odfjell’s customers. These products will arrive at the terminal by ship, barge, tank truck, and rail car.  The products will be stored in aboveground tanks, and then transferred to outbound vessels and over the road carriers of the same type. The facility will consist of ship/barge/truck/rail car loading racks, approximately 34 aboveground storage tanks, a boiler, an enclosed flare, and other emission control equipment.  

Odfjell chose a 20 acre site on the Cooper River in North Charleston, SC as their new storage facility.  The site is relatively long and narrow and site layout was challenging.  In addition to the tanks containing 500,000 BBL of storage capacity, a truck scale building, wastewater treatment system and five (5) new rail sidings had to be placed on the site. These facilities, along with administrative and operational buildings were placed strategically while maintaining truck access through the entire site.  To add to the challenge, a one (1) acre +/- grove of large oak trees thrives on the site and the local community required the trees remain without damage.

GEL Engineering Services Provided

• Obtained a Joint Permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) for the construction of new waterfront improvements, including dredging of the berth. A dredge sediment sampling and analysis plan was prepared, submitted, and executed in order to obtain approval for dredging and disposal of the dredged sediments in nearby dredge disposal facilities.
• Obtained all applicable environmental permits for a marine facility adjacent to the Cooper River.
• Performed industrial hygiene inspections to identify lead-based paint and asbestos containing materials associated with legacy landside structures slated for demolition and/or renovation.
• On-going coordination with applicable regulatory agencies (county, state, and federal) to review operations and discuss required revisions to environmental permits, including expedited processing and approval of the permit applications.
• Performed wetlands surveys and delineation for the site. Coordinated with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC)  and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to obtain a critical area/Jurisdictional Determination for the site.
• Industrial site engineering as part of a multi-discipline design/build team including process and piping, structural, architectural, instrumentation and security professionals.
• Performed pre and post dredge hydrographic surveys of the berth in the Cooper River.
• Obtained an air quality construction permit application including air dispersion modeling from SCDHEC. Permitting included air dispersion modeling for multiple scenarios.
• Designed process and domestic wastewater collection systems and permitted them through the North Charleston Sewer District and SCDHEC.
• Adapted site layout and subsequent construction to existing regulatory constraints on site that included avoidance of wetlands and critical areas and de-minimus intrusion into sensitive tree areas.
• Prepared multiple scenario containment studies to ensure spill prevention using Civil 3D analysis tools.
• Performed site surveys including wetlands delineation for the site.
• Performed construction surveys for contractor layout.
• Designed and permitted multi-tier storm water conveyance system for control of stormwater and containment of potential spills.
• Prepared construction drawings and specifications for shore systems including bulk storage secondary containment, potable water, fire protection, sanitary sewer and process wastewater.
• Obtained site variances from the North Charleston Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for yard setbacks and tree encroachments
• Designed and permitted rail sidings for loading and storage of tanker rail cars.  Obtained approval for construction from Norfolk Southern Rail.
• Reviewed contractor RFI’s and submittals for adherence to contract documents.
• Advised contractors and subs on alternative means during the construction.

The Result

Odfjell was successful in receiving approvals from all regulatory agencies and began operations in December 2013.