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The Herald, 8 August 2001

THE Harare Commission is introducing new regulations that will govern the allocation of land for development of fuel service stations.

The commission is worried by the mushrooming of service stations in the central business district and now wants the issuing of permits to be controlled.

Commissioners noted that service stations had been developed at almost every intersection along Samora Machel Avenue, a situation which, they said was improper.

All people now applying for land to build a service station would be required to produce a letter of support from an oil company.

Applications for land on areas that were not originally meant for service stations would also not be entertained.

“The development of fuel filling and service stations should be restricted to specific sites provided for in local layout plans,” resolved the commission.

The minimum stand size on which a fuel filling station could be built has also been set at 2 000 square metres.

A number of service stations have been coming up in the city following Government’s deregulation of the oil industry.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

Two decades on, service stations have continued to sprout and the major worries are environmental impact and fires.

Guidelines and codes of practice detailing aspects of the environmental impact of fuel storage and dispensing are crucial.

The following issues are key components of the regulations: vapour recovery, general construction issues, groundwater risk assessment of existing operations, fire and explosion risk assessment, local ambient air quality impacts of station operations.

Conducting business in a manner which balances the environmental and economic needs of the community is made possible by regulating every exercise.

Regulations also mitigate disasters associated with fuel dealing.

Regulations should also be extended to deal and handle issues of illegal fuel dealings especially those who use homes as storage facilities.