| Success Stories |
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| Malheur County |
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Locating a Bio-Refinery in Malheur County
In May of 2003, the City of Ontario and Malheur County asked the ERT coordinator and the Eastern Regional Team for help recruiting a bio-refinery planned by Treasure Valley Renewable Resources (TVRR) to Malheur County. The TVRR bio-refinery will use barley, wheat, corn, and milo purchased from local growers as feedstock for producing fuel-grade ethanol, biodiesel, and other co-products such as nutraceuticals and CO2. In addition to supporting the local agriculture industry, the bio-refinery will create about 60 family wage jobs.
TVRR decided to locate the bio-refinery in Malheur County in July 2003, as opposed to Idaho, after a call from Governor Kulongoski to the TVRR board and a tour of potential sites organized by the ERT coordinator and the regional team. According to John Hamilton, TVRR Project Manager, "The ability of the State of Oregon through their Community Solutions Team to provide information in an extremely rapid manner was a very important factor in our decision. Also, Governor Kulongoski´s personal involvement in the project was greatly appreciated."
The site selected by TVRR for the proposed bio-refinery was outside an Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and zoned Exclusive Farm Use (EFU). DLCD´s field representative in Eastern Oregon worked closely with Malheur County to establish an Agriculture Manufacturing/Industrial Use zone and overlay that zoning designation on the site. The Malheur County Planning Commission and County Court approved the land use actions in January 2004 but a group of neighbors has appealed the rezone to the Land use Board of Appeals (LUBA).
TVRR was awarded a $450,000 US Department of Agriculture Product Development Grant in 2002. The ERT coordinator and the regional team are continuing to work with TVRR and the County on coordinating permitting and funding. The bio-refinery is scheduled to begin construction in late 2004.
Eastern Regional Team:
Jon Jinnings, DLCD
Rick Minister, OECDD
Scott Fairly, DEQ
Rena Cusma, ODOT
Bruce Buchanan, OHCS
Casey Prentiss, ODA
Nancy Pustis, DSL
ERT Coordinator:
Cheri Davis, ERT
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