KANSAS CITY, Mo. — UPDATE 11/1: Lineage Logistics decided Wednesday not to build the facility near the New Century AirCenter.
In a statement, the company cited a change in customer needs.
“Lineage’s approach to new construction, expansion and acquisition has long been to provide the space and solutions where and when our customers need it,” said Mike McClendon, EVP of Network Optimization at Lineage in a statement released to 41 Action News.
He went on to say, “In the case of the proposed New Century facility, unforeseen changes to our customers’ supply chain and logistics needs have, for now, prompted us to withdraw our plans.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: One Johnson County woman is joining hundreds of others fighting their soon-to-be neighbor — a cold storage facility near the New Century AirCenter.
Their biggest concern is anhydrous ammonia.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, it’s a chemical that if handled improperly could be dangerous, even deadly.
“The worst case scenario is a chemical spill or an explosion,” said Janna W.
In July the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners approved the Lineage Logistic facility, which would include about 400,000 square feet. The board approved it to be built on about 40 acres near 159th Street and New Century Parkway.
Down the street is the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and adult detention center.
“I have asked them numerous times to please hear us, please listen to your community. Why are you not listening,” said Jana.
In a written statement to 41 Action News, chairman Ed Eilert said “there are currently three facilities in the industrial park that use anhydrous ammonia as a refrigerant in their business and those businesses have been there for decades.”
He added, “the state statue requires property owners to be notified of the application, and Johnson County followed all state statutes.”
41 Action News also reached out to Lineage Logistic. The company said it’s refrigeration system would be on a closed loop, meaning after the first delivery the chemical would never be added or removed.
The company will also have an alarm system to detect and automatically shut off operations in case of an emergency.
However, in 2016 OSHA cited Lineage Logistics for nine violations for safety failures that exposed workers to serious dangers of anhydrous ammonia at its McAllister, Texas facility.
That facility, according to the company’s website, is also a temperature controlled warehouse.
“It’s our health, it’s our safety. That’s what we put them in their position is to protect us and that’s what we want and that’s what we expect,” said Jana.
