Fear, accusations mark Bioethanol town hall

The campaign to win the hearts and minds of island residents over whether a Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) bioethanol production plant should be constructed included acrimonious exchanges at Thursday's city of Fernandina Beach town hall meeting.

A jammed city hall commission meeting room witnessed corporate giant RYAM battle the grassroots opposition group No Ethanol Fernandina, with each side accusing the other of fabricating data, misleading people and using fear tactics to sway public opinion.

RYAM is seeking to build a bioethanol plant at its Gum Street cellulose complex that would produce 7.5 million gallons of fuel annually. The alternative fuel would be stored at RYAM and trucked off the island.

The town hall included public comment from 25 speakers, including RYAM employees and concerned citizens, who passionately made their case in support of and opposition to the project.

City Commissioners James Antun, Chip Ross and David Sturges attended. However, the decision on whether to grant RYAM a building permit for the production plant lies with newly hired City Manager Sarah Campbell, who begins work on Nov. 18. The paramount issue is whether bioethanol is considered 'chemical manufacturing' which is prohibited by city regulations.

Mark Homans, RYAM's senior director for the project, said No Ethanol Fernandina has misrepresented data and fabricated disaster scenarios to scare residents about the project.

"They're (No Ethanol Fernandina) fabricating an (air quality) emissions increase based on a made-up scenario," Homans told the audience. "They're also misrepresenting LignoTech Florida and their operations. There's no new volume in emissions."

Homans maintained that the bioethanol production would result in lower emission output from the total RYAM complex, "the bottom line is, if you don't burn the sugars (in the process) the air emissions will go down."

Homans also questioned the knowledge of No Ethanol Fernandina's subject matter expert.

"Are the people you're hearing from, have they ever prepared an air permit application?" he said. "Our permit application was prepared by experts. A team with more than 150 years of combined experience in air permits. This is all about integrity."

He also said RYAM's bioethanol process is not chemical manufacturing and is based on natural fermentation of materials.

RYAM, a $1.5 billion company, needs the addition of bioethanol production to remain competitive, Homans maintained.

"We need to be able from an economic standpoint to identify other options for revenue streams that are a higher and better use and can improve the environment like this project," he said. "We ask you to follow the facts, don't be misled by misinformation."

RYAM's environmental operations manager David Rogers explained the bioethanol fermentation process stating "this is a significant investment, about $50 million and about 20 additional high-skilled employees. This is not a third mill, this is a small process in the back end of our facility."

Rogers said safety engineers hired by RYAM said in the event of a bioethanol accident, "as you get farther at 120 meters, there are no impacts beyond that zone (of the incident). Not a mushroom cloud over the mill like you've seen on social media."

No Ethanol Fernandina countered many of RYAM's claims just weeks before the two organizations will square off in the same room at an administrative hearing to determine if RYAM's air quality permit issued by the Florida Department of Environment Protection (DEP) is valid.

Tom Budd of No Ethanol Fernandina filed a petition against RYAM claiming the company's permit application cited outdated, inaccurate information and was incomplete.

Budd and retired chemical production expert Medardo Monzon countered elements of the RYAM presentation at the town hall.

As to the exposure from the risk of a chemical accident at RYAM's current operations, Monzon presented data from the company's own risk management information submitted to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showing exposure in a 'worst case' scenario extending out from five to 16 miles from an accident.

"They (RYAM) used the word fabricated. We haven't fabricated anything," Budd said. "We have come up with some scenarios that are troubling and asked for facts. We're still trying to get to the bottom of it."

Budd said when No Ethanol Fernandina attempted to obtain information about the RYAM project "we're told it's proprietary information, so we don't get the information we need to make these judgements. Perhaps, if we did, we wouldn't be here."

Reading from RYAM's air permit application, Budd said the distilled bioethanol, which the company compared to craft beer and liquor distilled on the island, would be 99.9 percent bioethanol as compared to beer at four percent and liquor at 40 percent.

"I don't know about yours, but my beer doesn't burn. Bioethanol will burn," Budd said. "No distillery or brewery operates inside a production site that already processes and stores large quantities of hazardous chemicals."

Monzon displayed a page from RYAM's air quality permit application to DEP signed by Homans that identified bioethanol as 'chemical manufacturing' which is prohibited in the city.

"So, what is the (RYAM) story now? It's (bioethanol) is consistent with the (city) comprehensive plan. What is being made up right now is a different story to get the community to buy something they cannot do," Monzon said. "They're probably going to sue the city to ram down our throat something they said was chemical manufacturing. This is an insult to our community."

RYAM employees spoke about the company's dedication to safe operations and its economic contributions to the community.

"I've worked there 27 years. I've put three kids through school. They do everything safe out there. I'm a safety specialist out there," said Wayne Peterson, a lifetime Fernandina resident. "This is a good project. Let the people (experts) work behind the scenes and let's come together as a community."

Wayne Duffy, who works in maintenance at RYAM, said the company adheres to strict regulatory requirements.

"I take pride in the fact that we're able to eliminate any problems before it happens," he said. "This new plant will be safe, lower emissions and create jobs."

But residents expressed concerns over the location of the plant and the potential for a serious production accident.

"I live .9 miles from the entrance of this plant. There are churches and schools and residences. We are not anti-plant. We understand the importance of RYAM," said Marilyn Hibdon. "We're on a barrier island that is two miles wide and 13 miles long. They say it (a fire) won't happen. This city is not prepared for that. This city doesn't even have enough firefighters to meet the national standards for a city our size."

Christopher Bidwell said residents need to consider the "worst case scenario" of a bioethanol plant accident.

"They (RYAM) say it will never happen. That's baloney. The Titanic, an unsinkable ship, sank. Things they say will never happen, actually happen," he said. "Google industrial accidents all over the world, and there are thousands of them around the world, accidents that were never supposed to happen. That's my wake-up call."

Cameron Moss challenged RYAM's claims that the bioethanol was crucial to keeping its mill operations from floundering.

"I'm really stunned that this project and these 20 jobs are being painted as an existential crisis for this business. If we don't do this RYAM's going under. That what it sounds like," Moss said.

He suggested an independent third-party evaluation of the bioethanol proposal "and let the chips fall where they may.

"Are 20 more jobs and x-million dollars in profits worth it to being at such odds with the community?" Moss said.