Rayonier Performance Fibers’ lawsuit with the City of Fernandina Beach reached an “impasse” after mediation efforts, a city press release said Thursday.
Court-ordered mediation over the suit to allow it to build an ethanol plant near its Fernandina Beach facility was conducted on April 13 and May 20.
The mediation concluded without resolution, said the city’s communications manager Mary Hamburg.
The cases in Nassau County Circuit Court and federal court are currently held in abeyance, meaning that the parties will submit a new case management proposal to the court, the abatements will be lifted, and then litigation proceedings can resume.
“The City remains committed to addressing these matters through the judicial process,” Hamburg said. “Because these matters remain pending, and because all mediation communications are confidential, the City is unable to comment further at this time.”
RYAM first filed the suit on Feb. 28, 2025, a few weeks after City Manager Sarah Campbell announced at a city commission meeting that she had informed RYAM that the plant couldn’t be built under the city’s code.
RYAM applied to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for an air quality permit in November 2024 that would allow the company to build a second-generation project plant on Gum Street.
The proposed plant will be capable of producing approximately 7.5 million gallons of bioethanol for sale each year, according to reports.
There was opposition to the project from residents, citing environmental safety and that the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code forbid the manufacture of chemicals in city limits. RYAM has countered that the plant would not use a chemical manufacturing process. Instead, bioethanol would be produced through fermentation, the company likening the process to breweries or distilleries, which operate in the city.
In November, city officials affirmed the city’s effort to block the plant, rejecting a $6.6 million claim from RYAM.
A RYAM spokesperson declined to comment