COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — On Saturday morning, a neighborhood fighting back against a gasoline storage facility's plans to expand gathered at Adams City High School.
"This is no joke, guys. We’ve got to stop this somehow," said Lisa Morgan, whose home backs up to the tanks.
Magellan Pipeline Company's Dupont storage facility sits across the street from Dupont Elementary School.
Now, there's a proposal to add five more tanks in addition to the 20 that already exist.
"If those tanks blow up, I don’t have one second… I’m gone," Morgan said.
Cultivando, a group focused on concerns affecting Latinos in Adams County, is leading the charge against the expansion near the elementary school.
"It's 87% Latino, half low income, and a good amount of students with disabilities," said Guadalupe Solis, director of Environmental Justice Programs at Cultivando.
The group monitored air quality for nearly two years around the tanks and said it found carcinogens like benzene at levels higher than federal limits.
"This wouldn't happen in Cherry Creek, and it doesn't happen in Cherry Creek," Solis said.
A permit in both English and Spanish is posted on the gate of the facility. Other than that, the community said they haven't received any outreach about the project.
It's caught the attention of city council members.
"You have a right to clean water, clean air and clean land, and this is environmental racism at its actual definition," said Renee Chacon, Commerce City Councilmember representing Ward 3.
The Adams 14 School District is also submitting community input to the state's Air Pollution Control Division by Sept. 16.
Denver7 reached out to the state. A spokesperson said, "When reviewing air permits, the scope of our authority is defined in law – we must approve permits that comply with the law."
Regardless, the community said it wants its health to take priority over the pipeline company's expansion.
The state is hosting a community meeting on Sept. 17.