Citizens Forming Up to Fight Bioethanol Plant

Can David defeat Goliath one more time?

A band of 150 hopeful citizens packed a Fernandina Beach country-western themed auditorium Monday with aspirations of kick-starting an opposition movement to corporate giant Rayonier Advanced Materials' (RYAM) plans to operate a bioethanol plant at its Gum Street complex.

Instead of being armed with five smooth pebbles and a sling, the group was told that emails, letters and petitions to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) would be the weapons of choice in order to force the agency to hold an administrative hearing on whether RYAM should be granted a state air quality permit for the bioethanol plant.

The meeting, organized by the Nassau Sierra Club, Conserve Nassau and Fight the Domino Effect, was intended to provide factual information about RYAM's bioethanol project that would produce 7.5 million gallons of bioethanol a year. The groups' bigger objective was to mobilize citizens for an email, letters and petition campaign to block RYAM from obtaining the permit.

"I think we need to get over the fact that somebody else is going to do this for us. It's us that is going to do it. We're on the ground, we live here and we need to care and we need to show up," said Sierra Club President Julie Ferreira. "We need to get out our pencils and get on our computers and really seriously spread the word on social media because social media reaches people like your next door neighbor."

FDEP said last week it intends to issue RYAM the air quality permit unless "If written comments received result in a significant change to the draft permit, the Permitting Authority shall revise the draft permit and require, if applicable, another Public Notice. " The agency said the public can also file petitions to require an administrative hearing regarding the permit.

FDEP said the public has 14 days to respond from publication of the notice.

Other 'Davids' rose and gave examples of how their organized efforts successfully beat back profit seeking ventures that would have impacted Fernandina Beach neighborhoods.

Christopher Bidwell lives near the Pirates Bay neighborhood where homeowners defeated a developer's plan to build an RV campground that had been approved by the county. Townhomes have now replaced the RV park plan.

Bidwell said the neighborhood decided early to start a GoFundMe page in order to raise money to hire an attorney to fight the RV park.

Bidwell told the group, "These are giant corporations that we're fighting against. They don't fight clean, they don't fight fair. They have tons of money. They have government pull. They have the inside track on everything and if it's not clear already, our local government isn't coming to the party. So we might consider, if everybody here say gives $50, there's plenty of good attorneys who would be excited (to take this on). The question is should we immediately seek legal help and start raising funds to do that?"

Tammi Kosack spoke on how her community, which sits adjacent to the Port of Fernandina, was able to scuttle plans by the port to include passenger cruise ships as a new business venture.

Kosack addressed the impact of a bioethanol plant on Amelia Island.

"It's just not (going to impact) our home values, it's also our (homeowners') insurance rates. My insurance rates have already skyrocketed. If we get bioethanol anywhere in our vicinity, our insurance rates again will go through the roof," she said.

Kosack said part of the successful strategy in fighting another port plan, this time to expand the port's boundaries into the neighborhood, was that the community group went directly to Washington, D.C.

"Our effectiveness was due to boiler-plate letters that many of you here sent to the U.S. Department of Transportation and we thwarted a $14.7 million grant for the port to expand," Kosack said. "This (email and letter writing) is where the rubber hits the road. It can't be just four or five people."

Kosack emphasized opposition to RYAM's bioethanol plant was not dissent against the existing mills.

"The last thing is that RYAM, the mills, provide jobs. They've been here for a long time. We're not fighting that, we're fighting a dangerous change to a barrier island. Please stay involved people. Don't just come to one event and forget about it," she said.

Chemical expert Medardo Monzon said RYAM's air quality permit application was "flawed and inaccurate."

"The application is written to fit a narrative," Monzon said.

One flaw Monzon pointed out was that RYAM used air quality data from 2015-2016. That data was prior to RYAM building a lignotech plant in 2018, which improved air quality since less carbon is being released into the atmosphere from RYAM's pulp processing.

Monzon said all of the air quality improvements from the lignotech facility would be wiped out by a bioethanol processing plant.

In all, 17 people made comments to the audience or posed questions to the host panelists.

"There are hundreds of examples of where chemicals and some of these compounds used in the process really caused problems in high population areas," said Robert Mergens, who lives at 221 S. 10th St. "My concern as a resident is what's the best possible thing we should be pursuing? ... What steps should we take next?"

Monzon told Mergens that requesting an FDEP administrative hearing regarding the air quality permit was crucial.

"At an administrative hearing we can demonstrate that RYAM's (application) data in the air permit is tainted. It doesn't represent what's happening right now or what will happen in the future," Monzon said. "There's a whole host of questions. Those are our best options."

Margaret Kirkland, chair of Conserve Nassau, said contacting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be another avenue to explore.

Taina Christner of Stop the Domino Effect, told attendees that a composite email list was being assembled and that once completed, talking points and boiler plate letters would be issued to assist in the email and letter writing campaign to FDEP.

"You've heard what you've heard tonight, you have a little bit better information than when you walked through the door, so help us by spreading the word especially through social media," Ferreira said in closing the meeting.