When I moved here to Surprise Az. in 2011, My step dad told me stories about when He worked on the rail road and delivered and received tanker cars from this facility. He was sure by now, like a lot of other things that the facility was closed down. I went on a mission and well I found it still operating today. Here is an underground PROPANE storage facility. In the summer, pressurized tank cars are interchanged from the Arizona and California and the gas is pumped into a natural cavern. In the winter when demand is greatest, it is pumped back into the cars for distribution, much of it returning to CALIFORNIA. Please enjoy this location and please be careful of motorists while getting you pics. Please don't not attempt to enter the property. Thanks
Here is a brief lesson on Some underground cavern are formed. Most underground storage of natural gas occurs in depleted natural gas reservoirs. Underground storage fields have also been created by leaching underground caverns in salt domes. The most notable example of this storage method is the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which stores the nation’s reserve of crude oil for use in national emergencies. Salt domes are suited for this purpose because they are dry and geologically stable, allowing crude oil and other petroleum substances to be safety isolated and stored in large quantities. To create an underground cavern in a salt dome, a hole is drilled from the surface down to the salt dome, and water is injected to dissolve the salt and create the storage space. The salt solution is pumped out until the required cavern volume is achieved. The cavern is then filled with crude oil or other petroleum-based substance, such as ethylene or propylene. Stored product is extracted from salt caverns by pumping brine into the cavern. Because the brine is denser than the stored product, it forces the stored product out of the cavern. Also, because of density differences, the brine does not mix with the stored product. When brine is removed from the cavern, it is stored in specially-constructed brine storage ponds and can be used over and over again, minimizing environmental impact.