Conservation group asks Oregon to revoke approvals for renewable diesel refinery on Columbia River

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A rendering of the proposed renewable diesel refinery at Port Westward industrial park outside Clatskanie.

Conservationists this week asked Oregon regulators to revoke state authorizations for a $2 billion-plus renewable diesel refinery proposed on the Columbia River near Clatskanie.

Columbia Riverkeeper, which opposes siting the controversial renewable diesel refinery in the Columbia River estuary, argues that approval of the project should be called into question following a key decision in October by the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

Columbia County commissioners in February approved land use permits for the project’s backer, Houston-based NEXT Renewables. But conservation groups and a local resident appealed that decision to the state land board, which ruled in late October that a proposed rail yard at the facility is not allowed on agricultural land, as planned.

Columbia Riverkeeper is now arguing that the land use decision undercuts an air quality permit for the facility that the Department of Environmental Quality approved in August and a previously granted exemption from obtaining a site permit from the Department of Energy. Both of those are predicated on having land use approval from the county, so Columbia Riverkeeper believes they should be revoked.

Michael Hinrichs, a spokesperson for the projects’ backers, Houston-based NEXT Renewables, said Columbia Riverkeeper is wrong. NEXT Renewables obtained two separate land use approvals from the county – one for the rail yard and another for the refining facility. The air quality permit is linked to the refinery not the rail yard, he said, so is not impacted by the land use decision.

NEXT Renewables will redesign the rail yard so it conforms with land use laws and reapply for a new approval from the county, he added.

“Columbia Riverkeeper’s claims are either disingenuous or simply uninformed,” Hinrichs said in an email.

He pointed to a memo that DEQ Interim Director Leah Feldman sent to members of the Environmental Quality Commission in advance of the policy setting board’s regular meeting in mid-November that said the land use decision “does not affect” the air permit.

Columbia Riverkeeper said it’s aware of the agency’s position, but believes it’s wrong.

Dan Serres, conservation director for the group, said the rail facility is an integral part of the project, required for the delivery of feedstocks and other refinery supplies. The air permit, he said, lists the proposed rail activities as a source of emissions. Moreover, in a request for information to the company for another major permit, a water quality certification, DEQ said that consistency with land use regulations would require approvals for both the rail yard and refinery.

“Bottom line: the refinery can’t operate without the rail yard,” Serres said in an email. “A company should not receive air or water permits in a situation where the underlying land use authorization is invalid.”

DEQ spokesperson Lauren Wirtis said the agency will consult with the Department of Justice on the questions the organization is raising. Jennifer Kalez, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy, said the agency is reviewing Columbia Riverkeeper’s position and expects to respond within the next week. “We will do our due diligence to evaluate how LUBA’s decision may affect the energy facility” she said.

Columbia Riverkeeper said it is also looking at other legal avenues to dispute the validity of the air permit.

Backers of the project are hoping to open the facility in 2024 and say it would create 3,500 temporary construction jobs, 240 permanent jobs during operation and generate more than $45 million in state and local tax revenue annually.

Renewable diesel is a replacement for petroleum-based diesel that is refined from vegetable oil, animal fats, seed oil and waste grease. Backers of the project say the life-cycle greenhouse emissions are 80% lower than petroleum-based fuels. Meanwhile, transportation emissions account for the largest portion of Oregon’s emissions and have been the most difficult sector to achieve reductions in.

Community members and conservation groups claim the project would pose a major pollution risk for the Port Westward community as well as those downwind and downstream from the refinery and railyard. They say DEQ’s analysis downplayed those risks.

The facility expects to produce 1.6 million gallons a day of fuel at startup and 2.1 million gallons a day at full capacity. It would consume large amounts of natural gas in the process, with associated emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

- Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-221-8505; @tedsickinger

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