The Port of Anacortes has invited residents near Pier 2 to a community meeting to discuss proposed shipping of prilled sulfur.

The meeting is 5 p.m. Thursday at the port’s main warehouse at the north end of Commercial Avenue.

The residents are also invited to a test ship-loading event tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday on Fourth Street at the port’s marine terminal along the Guemes Channel.

“Based on the available data regarding sulfur prills, we believe the impact to the community will be insignificant,” said Executive Director Bob Hyde in a letter sent to the residents Friday informing them of the meetings and of the port exploring the possibility of exporting prilled sulfur from the pier.

Sulfur is a byproduct of local oil refinery operations and is delivered in molten (liquid) form to the Marsulex Company in Skagit County. Marsulex then runs the sulfur through a water bath process that creates small, hard, irregularly shaped pellets called prills. Sulfur prills are primarily odorless, create minimal dust and are not soluble in water, according to the port.

The port was approached by the Shell Puget Sound Refinery, which usually ships prilled sulfur to British Columbia by truck to be loaded onto ships destined for China, said John Hachey, port operations and facilities director.

Because of logistics at Pacific Coast Terminals in B.C., it will no longer handle sulfur trucked in by Shell and the other three refineries in Skagit and Whatcom counties after 2010, Hachey said. Sulfur is used to make fertilizer in China. Either that or it becomes a useless commodity and must be disposed of at a landfill at a cost.

The procedure for transporting and loading prilled sulfur from the county to the port’s marine terminal would be identical to that for the current petroleum coke loading operation. Trucks would run only when a ship is in port, during the same hours as the coke trucks — 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., but not on the same days as the coke trucks.

No sulfur would be stored on the pier; all storage will be off-site. The sulfur would be unloaded from the trucks onto the big blue covered conveyor belt and directly into ships. It would not be loaded into open barges.

Whether the process is cost effective for the refinery will be partially determined by the loading test on Sunday. For the process to go forward, the port commission and city leaders would also have to approve it.

If the project does move ahead, Shell and the other refineries would contract with Marsulex. And Marsulex would contract with the port for a five- to 10-year contract with a two-year termination notification. The shipments could begin in late 2009 or 2010.

In addition, the port would establish an interlocal agreement with the city, in which the city would receive a per ton payment for street improvements and maintenance along the truck routes.

The port would also possibly build a tent or building over the loader at a cost of approximately $100,000, and the activity would be added to the port’s storm water permit.

Shell produces about 30,000 tons of sulfur per year, about one ship’s worth, Hachey said. The combined amount coming from Shell and Tesoro on March Point, and BP America and ConocoPhillips at Cherry Point in Ferndale would amount to about 120,000 tons of sulfur a year. In comparison, the port ships out about 300,000 tons of coke per year.

With an approximate four to five ships per year and 30 tons per truck, that would add up to about 4,000 trucks per year.

The port will provide technical information about the proposed prilled sulfur operation and discuss concerns the residents might have at the Thursday meeting. Staff will also have some prilled sulfur available to view.

At the Sunday event, residents will be able to see the loading operation up close and see how it would work.

“After the event, I would appreciate getting your feedback and hearing any concerns you might have on this potential operation,” Hyde said. “Exporting this product has the potential to bring additional jobs and revenue to the community; however, I am committed to full and open disclosure of potential impacts to the community prior to going forward.”

A State Environmental Policy Act checklist containing an environmental analysis, describing the project and its potential impacts, will be prepared later this fall and available for public review and comment.

Contact Hyde at 299-1812 or .