STONINGTON – Town officials are preparing to clear the last hurdle to their plan to sell fuel from the commercial fishing pier.

The town will seek the local permit to install the 4,000-gallon tank and pump on the fish pier when the planning board meets Thursday night.

Selectmen already have obtained a permit from the State Fire Marshall and have approved a spill containment plan. On Monday, they authorized the expenditure of $34,000 to buy and install the system. There will be some additional expense involved in the project, according to Town Manager Richard Avery, but the $34,000 also includes the first tank of diesel fuel.

Plans call for the tank to be installed at the midpoint of the commercial fish pier with the pump set up about 100 feet away at the end of the pier. The installation of the tank and the pump will be relatively simple, Avery said Tuesday. The tank comes in a frame and will be surrounded by concrete Jersey barriers, while the pump will be installed on a pad built on the asphalt deck of the pier.

No excavation will be needed for the project, but the fuel line will be installed along the side of the pier. The project also will require installation of conduit from the pump to the controls that will be located in the harbor master’s office.

Fuel will be sold only to commercial fishing boats.

“Users will be issued an identification card and will prepay amounts that will be credited to their accounts,” Avery said.

The card system will allow them to obtain fuel whether the harbor master is in the office or not, he said.

ID cards are not yet available.

The plan to sell fuel to fishermen was initially proposed two years ago as a way to increase the use of the commercial fish pier and increase municipal revenues from pier fees. Although selectmen approved the plan then, it was put on hold after concerns were raised about insurance.

At that time, the proposal received vocal opposition from a number of local dealers concerned that the plan would put the town in direct competition with a number of businesses in town and could force some out of business.

This time around there has been very little opposition voiced to the proposal, Avery said.

Installation is expected to begin early next month, he said, and the pumps should be open for business by mid-July.