At the Eugene Clean Fuels Facility, workers would load biofuels from railcars onto an estimated 40 trucks per day. The site would be on railroad property off of Bethel Drive.
USD Clean Fuels, based in Houston, is behind the proposal. In an email to KLCC, a company spokesperson said the facility would help provide renewable fuels to local markets.
But Trainsong residents recently gathered at a local church to express their concerns about the project 鈥� including the potential consequences of a train derailment, similar to .
Lisa Arkin, Executive Director of Eugene-based watchdog group , told neighbors these biofuels would create a major safety risk if they spilled or ignited.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e extremely hazardous to breathe,鈥� said Arkin. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e extremely explosive in the right conditions, and great care has to be taken to deal with these kinds of chemicals in a fluid or vapor state.鈥�
Some meeting attendees also said they were worried about noise and disrupted sleep. According to USD Clean Fuels, most truck operations would occur at night, between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
However, the company told KLCC it doesn鈥檛 expect to exceed any city noise limits, either on or off site. It also defended the safety of its proposal, arguing it has a 15-year track record of running similar facilities.
鈥淭he company is complying with all environmental, health, and safety regulations to minimize the impacts of facility operations,鈥� the USD Clean Fuels spokesperson wrote. 鈥淭he company is also working with the local fire safety officials to ensure everyone is prepared in the unlikely event of an incident.鈥�
City approval
Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis attended the community meeting, alongside City Councilors Greg Evans and Lyndsie Leech. They all said they were concerned about this project.
In June, the city of Eugene approved USD Clean Fuels鈥� zoning verification for the facility. Vinis said she and the city council weren鈥檛 involved in that decision.
The site is in an unzoned area, so it鈥檚 intended for 鈥渢racks, signals, other operative devices and the movement of rolling stock,鈥� according to city land-use laws.
鈥淔rom the city staff鈥檚 perspective, the application meets that standard,鈥� said Vinis. 鈥淎nd so they approved it, because they didn鈥檛 have any reason to disapprove it.鈥�
However, Beyond Toxics argues the city did a cursory job with its review. Zach Mulholland, a contractor working with the watchdog group, told neighbors the city should require a traffic impact analysis.
Beyond Toxics has announced it will appeal the city鈥檚 decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. Arkin declined to disclose the arguments that will be presented in the petition in advance.
In the meantime, Leech told neighbors there鈥檚 little that the city鈥檚 elected officials can do to stop the project from moving forward.
鈥淚鈥檝e been asking every single city staff member, every land-use attorney, every person that I can think of 鈥� give me a tool. Give me something,鈥� said Leech. 鈥淎nd this process that our community and Beyond Toxics is going through 鈥� that is the only tool that seems to be available at this time.鈥�
USD Clean Fuels will still need a permit from the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency to proceed. The company plans to open the facility sometime late next year.
Notifying the public
Neighbors at the Oct. 7 meeting also expressed frustration that they weren鈥檛 notified about the proposal sooner, either by the city or the company.
USD Clean Fuels said it began reaching out to neighbors in August. This was about two months after the zone verification was granted.
Vinis said the city鈥檚 elected officials also only became aware of the issue that month. She said since this project doesn鈥檛 require a zoning change, there鈥檚 no mechanism that brought it to the city council for review.
鈥淭his was a wake up call for me, that something of this significance had happened, it went through a standard procedure with city staff, and we didn鈥檛 hear about it,鈥� said Vinis. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 something for us to look at there in terms of that process.鈥�
Changing the rules
Last October, Eugene鈥檚 city council directed city staff to create new public health development standards, in order to protect neighborhoods from pollution. But one year later, those policies aren鈥檛 yet ready.
鈥淲e have many city councilors who support it, but it has pretty much gone nowhere with the staff,鈥� said Arkin. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been unnecessary delays, and we should be passing it by the end of the year. Will we get there? I don鈥檛 know.鈥�
Vinis said she believes city officials are doing their job. But she said staffing is limited, and there are multiple city priorities splitting employees鈥� time.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a broader issue here about how many people, and how much time, it actually takes to start a whole new policy discussion, and provide the groundwork for that policy discussion to take place,鈥� said Vinis.
Leech said even if the new standards took effect tomorrow, they wouldn鈥檛 block the Eugene Clean Fuels Facility project at this point.
Mulholland told neighbors the changes could help the community prevent a major polluter from setting up in town in the future, similar to the .
鈥淭he current rules are actually not serving us as well as they should,鈥� said Mulholland. 鈥淲e need to update those rules in order to protect our neighborhoods.鈥�
This story comes from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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