Detroit Bulk Storage stops shipments of petcoke

Firm had been storing petcoke on the banks of the Detroit River.

{reg}Detroit Bulk Storage has stopped trucking in petroleum coke for storage at a controversial site on the banks of the Detroit River, reports Windsor Star.

A spokesman for the company called it a "business decision," although there are still plans to proceed with a permit application with the City of Detroit that would allow the storage of the black byproduct of Alberta's oilsands on the site which sits just east of the Ambassador Bridge.

The petcoke ignited a firestorm in recent months after the massive pile on the industrial riverfront site in Detroit at one time reached four storeys and a few hundred metres in length without any permits.

The pile has become much smaller in recent weeks and will continue to shrink, according to Daniel Cherrin, spokesman for the company.

It is unclear whether the company will revive storing petroleum coke on the site should it secure proper zoning and permits from the city of Detroit in the coming weeks.{/reg}