Comment period extended again on crude oil project

An Amtrak train and a freight train with tanker cars pass each other near Riverlink Park in Amsterdam

State regulators have again extended the public comment period for a fuel shipping company’s plan to expand crude oil handling operations at the Port of Albany.

The Department of Environmental Conservation says Wednesday that the comment period on Global Companies’ air permit application has been extended an additional 60 days until Sept. 30 because of broad public interest. It had been set to expire Aug. 1, after a previous 60-day extension.

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Global wants to add heating facilities at its Albany terminal so it can handle thick, tar-like crude oil of the sort that’s being mined in western Canada.

Albany has become a key hub for western crude heading for East Coast refineries.