An environmental court judge has approved Costco’s plans to build a gasoline filling facility at its Colchester store.
Costco’s plans to build a 12-pump facility on the warehouse retailers’ property near Interstate 89 and U.S. 2 and 7 were first launched in 2007. Concerns over a nearby wetland, filed by the owners of two nearby gas stations, have delayed the project on appeal since.
Thursday’s ruling by Judge Thomas Durkin accepted Costco’s plan to improve stormwater runoff conditions at the site and all other aspects of the company’s development plans.
The project is opposed on environmental grounds by R.L. Vallee Inc. and Timberlake Associates, which operate convenience stores near Costco. The big box store is expected to offer gas prices below the regional average.
Mark Hall, an attorney with Paul Frank + Collins who represents Costco, said Friday “there is nothing in the decision that we didn’t propose.”
Hall said the stormwater improvements, to be paid for by Costco, will bring the infrastructure up to current environmental standards.
Opponents have 30 days to appeal the decision to the Vermont Supreme Court.
