Robert Weintraub
An ethanol production plant has been proposed for Fernandina Beach by Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM). The company has said it is not required to provide details of the plant or its operation to the city commission. So far, the commission has declined to require RYAM to do so. Yet there are serious concerns about the plant, not only for its legality, but primarily for significant danger to the people of Fernandina and Yulee.
Ethanol is a biofuel, primarily made from corn in the midwestern United States, but also from various forms of biomass such as wood scraps, which is the plan for the RYAM ethanol plant.
Legally, RYAM’s plan appears to run afoul of the City Comprehensive Plan, policy 1.07.12, which deals with industrial zoning, which says in part: “… chemical or petroleum manufacturing or refining … shall be prohibited.” RYAM’s complex is zoned industrial, therefore coming under the provisions of this policy. Their filings on this facility calls it “a new bioethanol plant” and that ethanol is a chemical.
It would appear the only way RYAM can build this plant is to either change its zoning from “industrial” or change the Comprehensive Plan, which would require a series of hearings and state approval.
City Attorney Tammi Bach has declined comment on the issue until she receives an opinion from outside counsel. A RYAM corporate spokesman said “we believe that this project is consistent” with the plan.
By failing to hold a hearing on the RYAM plan, the city commission – and the public – have not explored some serious questions: What happens to the water that is being used to “cool” the process? Where is the waste water going? Is this water going to be injected into the upper aquifer as the state now allows? What is in the waste water of an ethanol plant?
RYAM’s position is that the project “will not materially affect our plant’s water use, nor will it harm local waterways. The small amount of wastewater generated will be treated at our plant’s existing wastewater treatment facility,” according to the company spokesman.
As for the questions about emissions put into the air and the possible requirement that an EPA air monitor will be needed, RYAM’S response was “the new process will be equipped with state-of-the-art emissions controls and will be required to meet stringent air emissions limitations.”
There are other serious reasons that question if the ethanol plant should be built.
The history of ethanol production has been rife with explosions and fires that have roiled local communities where the plants have been sited. There have been five in the last 1-1/2 years across America and more than 20 ethanol explosions/fires worldwide over the past 10 years.
And rail/truck transport of the processed chemical has also caused havoc in communities through which it has been transported.
For example:
Last April, in Wood River, Neb., near Grand Island, one worker died and four others were injured in an explosion at the Green Plains ethanol plant. Firefighters found the explosion happened during routine maintenance and repairs on a holding tank. OSHA says precautions weren’t taken to eliminate sources of ignition and that cutting or welding was permitted in the presence of explosive atmospheres. The citations say suitable extinguishing equipment was not maintained in a state of readiness for instant use and a permit wasn’t filed to do the work. Green Plains was penalized more than $42,000 for four serious violations.
Near Louisville, Ky., a flash fire at an ethanol plant started as two maintenance workers were replacing a section of old pipe in the filling station area of the facility.
At an ethanol processor in Indiana, vapors backed up to a device housing a burner and exploded.
The Ringneck Energy plant explosion in Onida, S.D., had two explosions officials said were caused by human involvement during the restart process after the shutdown of operations. By ramping up the restart process too fast and by-passing a valve interlock, escaped ethanol vapors found ignition sources.
Firefighters suspect a lightning strike or static discharge caused a 40,000-gallon tank of ethanol to explode and catch fire at the Eco-Energy tank farm in Northwest Charlotte, N.C. More than 70 firefighters responded to the scene to combat flames that were shooting 20 to 30 feet into the air. The fire shut down Freedom Drive in both directions near the tank farm, causing miles of backups on snowy roads.
Near Portland, Ore., a large ethanol fire destroyed multiple buildings and vehicles. Officials evacuated roughly 80 homes and businesses, including a Walmart. Residents in surrounding areas were told to shelter in place and close their doors and windows to keep out falling debris.
At Lincolnway Energy in Nevada, Iowa, an explosion at the ethanol plant was caused by a power surge that caused a steam pipe to burst.
In Cambria, Wis., an explosion at an ethanol plant killed one person and sent 12 others to the hospital. OSHA had fined the plant due to its lacking an explosion protective system.
In 2006, a freight train derailed off a railroad trestle in New Brighton, Pa., near Pittsburgh. The train contained 86 cars of ethanol, several of which ruptured and exploded.
A train carrying ethanol derailed in rural Minnesota and four cars caught fire, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate homes in the early morning. The train derailed at 1 a.m. in the small city of Raymond, with the explosion waking the entire town.
In Cherry Valley, Ill., a derailment of 13 ethanol cars and resulting fire killed one person at a rail crossing and injured seven others, led to the evacuation of 600 homes and caused $8 million in damages.
In Baltimore, a tanker rig carrying the chemical overturned and burst into flames on an interstate ramp, killing the driver and sending a burning stream of ethanol into the street below.
RYAM’s spokesman said it had not been determined how the company will ship the ethanol.
Ethanol is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. Escaping fumes can pollute the local atmosphere where it can be inhaled by people and animals. Ethanol is primarily metabolized in the liver and stomach by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzymes. These enzymes catalyze the oxidation of ethanol into acetaldehyde a known carcinogen and poses significantly greater toxicity in humans than ethanol itself.
It is highly flammable and ethanol mixtures can ignite below average room temperature. An ethanol-water solution will catch fire if heated above its flash point, and an ignition source is then applied to it. At a mixture of 80% ethanol, this will occur at about 77 degrees Fahrenheit. The flash point of pure ethanol is 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ethanol fires are particularly hard to put out requiring a hazmat team and a special truck containing the Purple K extinguishing agent. RYAM’s spokesman pointed out the proposed BioEthanol plant “will include a dedicated and robust fire suppression system and adhere to the latest codes, standards and regulations required by federal, state and local regulators as well as insurance providers that underwrite the facility.”
Not known is if RYAM plans to have the special equipment on hand to deal with an ethanol fire or if the local fire department will have to provide this firefighting capability costing taxpayers.
And will the existence of such a chemical processor in a densely populated community lead to increased insurance costs for homeowners and businesses?
There is little evidence that commercial cellulosic biofuel production today is any more successful than the first, short-lived wood-to-ethanol refineries built more than a century ago. A look at the six recently (since 2010) opened commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants — which use biomass such as wood — shows that, despite claims to be “operational,” not a single one has been operating continuously at capacity with economically viable yields.
Due to the flammability, toxicity and need for special equipment and hazmat personnel, RYAM should be required to detail how they are going to protect nearby Fernandina and Yulee residents from injury, death and property destruction.
Robert Weintraub of Fernandina Beach is a former journalist (New York Times and Atlanta Constitution) and public relations executive. He is known for his work as an environmental reporter and for the recovery of the bald eagle and peregrine falcon.