Senator Colburn Announces Funding For The Williamsburg Line

Cambridge – Senator Richard F. Colburn (R. Eastern Shore) announced today, "I am pleased to have successfully helped secure $250,000 in grant funding through the Department of Business and Economic Development and the Department of Transportation to keep the rail line in Williamsburg open. This line is a viable line for Tri-Gas & Oil, a well-established, family-owned Maryland business, and for other small businesses in transporting heating fuels, specifically propane. I would like to commend both the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development, Christian Johansson, and Governor O’Malley for their help in securing these funds. The monies will be used to secure a stable supply of liquid propane for the mid-shore regions and to keep the rail line open. Currently, Tri-Gas & Oil uses approximately 50% of the line to transport fuels, while the other 50% is used by smaller liquid propane distributers."

The project involves an infrastructure issue of extraordinary importance to the Eastern Shore—the expansion of a storage capacity for liquid propane (LP) to serve the Mid-Shore region. Since the shutdown of the Valero refinery in Delaware, the propane supply has been nearly eliminated on the Delmarva Peninsula. Because of this elimination, the rail-served facility at Williamsburg is necessary to provide the propane needed by both residents and businesses of the agricultural community as well as the poultry industry. Tripling what is currently a fixed-tank storage capacity will supply the region with adequate amounts of LP. This project is of utmost importance because while demand for LP on the Shore has increased, LP storage for the region has decreased. This project will avert potential economic disaster for both large and small businesses on the Shore by providing dramatically more LP storage that is both central and accessible to businesses. It will also ensure the retention of jobs on the Eastern Shore.

Although there were alternative sites in Delaware, the site in Williamsburg is ideal because it is already a major place for LP distribution, it is served by the Maryland and Delaware Railroad, and it is a safe and secure location. Furthermore, this project is strongly supported by the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Maryland Department of Agriculture. In addition to the grant, Tri-Gas & Oil will invest a minimum of $100,000 in improvements to the Williamsburg storage facility.