Planning commission gives green light to bio-refinery
Saturday, March 17, 2007 11:47 PM PDT
Larry Meyer Argus Observer
ONTARIO
As expected, the Malheur County Planning Commission quickly voted to approve a site review application for Treasure Valley Renewable Resources during the second part of a review hearing Wednesday night.
The board voted 8-1 to approve the site review application by TVRR, a move that effectively clears the way for the firm to begin construction of a bio-refinery south of Ontario.
Advocates of the $77 million bio-refinery project assert it will create more than 60 jobs and give the local economy a needed boost. A number of key local leaders, the Oregon Department of Economic Development and Gov. Ted Kulongoski worked to get TVRR to situate the plant in Malheur County after local, grass-roots opposition and zoning issues scuttled efforts to build the facility in Payette County. A small, but vocal, group of area residents in Malheur County also have raised questions regarding the plant since the company elected to site the facility south of Ontario.
While the potential for jobs has been one appeal for the plant, at least one regional economist warned potential new slots at the plant will only benefit the economy if employees reside locally.
In a 2003 Argus Observer article, Robert Gibbs, regional economist for the Economic Research Service Branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said keeping employees — especially those on the higher end of the pay scale — in Malheur County could be a challenge for TVRR and local county officials pushing the concept.
“Speaking in general terms, if you want to diversify the work force by drawing in more skilled jobs — it is very hard to do that if you are close to an urban area that has the housing and amenities to offer,” Gibbs said in 2003.
TVRR project manager John Hamilton said in the 2003 article that TVRR is not “assuming anything” when estimating how many of the bio-refinery positions will be filled by Malheur County residents.
In the wake of the Wednesday decision, the planning commission is scheduled to take final action June 23 at its regular meeting. The board will make the final decision after presentation and a review of findings of fact.
The tentative vote Wednesday was needed to give planning staff a direction to go in writing the report.
The site for the facility is along Alameda Drive, near the intersection with Railroad Avenue. Originally zoned exclusive farm use, it was rezoned by the Malheur County Court to the newly created M-3 or Agriculture Industrial Processing Plant zone.
A small crowd of mostly observers gathered at the Four Rivers Cultural Center for the session which was limited to comments on material submitted since the first session last week. Wednesday’s continuation lasted 45 minutes with comments from three opponents to the bio-refinery site, along Alameda Drive and rebuttal comments from Hamilton, followed by questions and deliberations by the commission members.
Melinda Kathriner, 2501 Alameda Drive, read a letter written by Bonnie Smith, a resident along Southeast Second Street. Smith said the street is very narrow in her neighborhood and trucks drive on her property when meeting other trucks.
“It’s not wide enough to handle large trucks,” she said.
Smith also expressed concerns about the short speed limit zones which do not allow enough time for trucks to slow down.
“Nobody slows down,” she said.
In his comments, Terry Oft, 3761 Alameda Drive, said the switch from a fermentation process in producing ethanol to a gasification process, is a change from what the planning commission passed when it approved a zone change for the proposed site of the bio-refinery.
Oft referred to a publication from the U.S. Department of Energy, which characterized facilities using the gasification process as “thermochemical bio-refineries,” which convert biomass to synthesis gas.
“I do not think putting a thermochemical plant on this property is what we had in mind when we developed this category of land use,” Oft concluded.
Steve Penn, 3754 Alameda Drive, said TVRR has not met the burden of proof regarding possible impacts on air, water and the environment, plus the impacts of traffic.
In rebuttal, Hamilton said the Oregon Department of Transportation has provided money for upgrading of Southeast Second Street, which includes widening the roadway.
He also reiterated that the ordinance for the new zone does not mention fermentation, but processing of agricultural projects.
“It’s all agriculture,” he said, describing what will be processed. “This is an organic chemical process.”
Voting no on tentative approval was Denis Price, who, after the meeting, said he wanted to see a few concerns he had mentioned during deliberations met.
“I still have an issue with the roads,” he said. He said one of his concerns involved continued talk about using Onion Avenue to access the bio-refinery. Price said he asked that as part of the site permit approval TVRR be required to have contracts with truckers requiring them to use the designated freight route — Southwest 18th Avenue — and not Onion or Railroad avenues.
Also, he asked that TVRR specifically be banned from burning coal, even though the issue would be covered by the DEQ draft air quality permit.
Commission member Gary Smith said, having seen nothing in DEQ documents, he wanted dioxins measured. The next process will be a public information meeting and public hearing conducted by the DEQ July 13, starting at 6 p.m. in Treasure Valley Community College’s Weese Building.
