Remediation of fuel storage tanks – Augusta (SR)

The fuel storage in the district Punta Cugno was established in 1930 and is located in an
area of about 800.000 m² along the west coast of the port of Augusta (SR). It
is owned by the Italian State and it is used by the Italian Navy.
The site includes five state-owned areas that identify five groups of tanks for a total
storage capacity of approximately 240.000 tonnes of naval fuel and no. 2 logistics areas
with five piers.
The five groups of fuel storage tanks are currently disused and in a very bad state of
conservation that has led to leakage of combustible residues.
The area is part of the National Interest Site (SIN) of Priolo-Augusta which extends into
the municipalities of Augusta, Priolo, Melilli and Siracusa; the SIN has also been declared
“Area of high risk of environmental crisis” since 1990.

The activities planned for the remediation of the site consist of:

• a preliminary general survey with the production of a detailed catalog of the structures,
the identification of any waste and the assignment of the respective CER codes;
• a topographic survey carried out by both drone, equipped with GPS, for an overall
assessment and a Total Station for detailed evaluations;
• a detailed survey of the tanks with a detailed quantitative and qualitative evaluation
of the waste present inside tanks and tunnels. An assessment of the degradation
status of the structures will also be done by ultrasonic thickness measurements;
• the drafting of a final and executive project for the site remediation (fuel storage
tanks, oil pipelines and tunnels) and disposing of all waste;
• the drafting of an environmental characterization plan in order to identify any
contaminated areas.