DFSP Point Loma prepares for major facelift

Navy Supply Corps Newsletter, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Stephen L. Frey

After more than 100 years of continuous service, the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center San Diego's Navy Fuel Depot is still forging ahead as it contemplates a $112 million military construction facelift. What is today known as Defense Fuel Supply Point (DFSP) Point Loma was set in motion on Sept. 24, 1901 when acting secretary of war, Elihu Root, by direction of President Theodore Roosevelt, ordered the transfer of 360 acres of land from the Department of the Army's Fort Rosecrans military reservation to the Department of Navy for the purpose of constructing a coaling station.

Officially established as the La Playa Coaling Station, it opened its 50,000-ton "coal bins" for business in 1904, under the command of LCDR J.H. Holcombe, becoming the first U.S. naval base in San Diego. The "coal bins" were officially closed in 1926 when 800 tons of coal were loaded on the cruiser USS New York, so she could steam east for decommissioning. The remaining 15,000 tons of coal were later sold to tramp steamers and local citrus growers for smudge pots.

Starting in 1917, the first bulk storage fuel tank was built. The last was constructed in 1954. DFSP Point Loma is located approximately six miles west of downtown San Diego on what is known today as Naval Base Point Loma. The facility currently occupies 200 acres of land, utilizes 50 bulk storage tanks and operates 30 miles of carbon steel piping, more than 3,000 valves, a 954-foot fuel pier and a full-service petroleum laboratory. Of the 50 tanks, 22 are underground, 13 are cut and cover concrete tanks while the remaining nine are welded steel. There are 28 aboveground steel tanks, 15 are riveted steel constructed and the balance is welded steel tanks.

All of this is about to change. A military construction project, MILCON P-401, has been approved for fiscal year 2008 to replace all the bulk tanks, pumping stations, fuel oil recovery plant and truck fill racks. The preliminary design reduces the overall footprint to 19 aboveground, welded steel constructed, bulk storage tanks spread over an area more than 50 acres in size.

With the average age of the current storage tanks bordering on 70 years, the facility is in danger of mission failure. The primary truck loading rack is 50 years old, the lube oil tanks are 40 years old, the fuel oil recovery plant is 30 years old and the pier shack/control center building and the pump house are more than 60 years old.

In addition to replacing the tanks the MILCON will address the following deficiencies.

Currently DFSP Point Loma has three truck rack stations. The oldest and primary station is more than 50 years old. The goal is to reduce truck-loading liabilities. The steel structure originally built to top load trucks has undergone a series of modifications, which have weakened the steel structure. The load arms do not meet MIL Handbook 1022-A requirements for JP-5. Compounding the problem, the structure is corroded beyond economic repair.

"The lube oil tanks are more than 40 years old, many of which are old rail cars which are precariously perched on the very edge of the bay. They are a serious environmental liability because of wave action soil erosion. The riveted tanks are weeping product and the rail cars have long outlived their serviceability.

The Fuel Oil Recovery plant, which helps offset the costs associated with recovering fuel spill runoff, tank cleaning spoils from Navy and MSC ships, tank repairs and off specification fuel, is also being replaced. The nearest commercial hazardous waste processing facility is in Los Angeles. Sending 4-5 million gallons to Los Angeles by truck on an annual basis is cost prohibitive and is the primary reason the plant is being replaced.

The MILCON objectives are many. Without the MILCON, the facility will suffer mission failure, sooner rather than later. The band-aid repair approach cannot keep pace with the failure rate. Other objectives are to help usher DFSP Point Loma into the 21st century, providing it with a renewed life expectancy of an additional 50 plus years, multi-product storage capability, operational simplicity, reduced environmental liability and increased employee safety.

Other MILCON advantages incorporated in the facility's layout are reduced environmental risk, best management practices, reduced operating costs and the smallest footprint possible. While the storage capacity remains basically the same, the number of tanks, valves and linear feet of piping are greatly reduced, which will decrease overall maintenance for the life of the facility while promoting increased efficiencies because of the smaller operational footprint.

As DFSP Point Loma moves into the new millennium and its second century of operations, it will do so with a new, up-to-date infrastructure. The multimillion dollar MILCON investment will ensure that DFSP Point Loma can continue to maintain its strategic importance to the fleet, protecting the fragile ecological balance inherent to operating a bulk fuel oil storage facility while complying with robust environmental considerations. It will also allow the FISC San Diego management team to transition into the 21st century while maintaining a bustling, productive fuel supply point at the original La Playa Coaling Station site.