FERNDALE, Wash. — Phillips 66 and Renewable Energy Group officials announced January 21st they were withdrawing from the permitting process that would have led to the building of a 250-million-gallon-per-year renewable diesel facility within the Phillips 66 refinery.
Permitting delays and uncertainties were cited as the reasons behind the decision. They had been working with Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and Whatcom County Planning & Development Services to obtain the necessary permits.
Since being announced in November 2018, the Green Apple Renewable Fuels facility project had progressed to a public comment period regarding the required environmental impact statement and community meetings had been scheduled for early February in Anacortes, Ferndale and Bellingham.
Whatcom County issued the following press release January 24th in response to the news.
Click for more information
Click for more information
According to Ecology, they “were at the start of the environmental review process, which occurs before any decisions are made on permits Green Apple would have needed to build and operate the plant.”
According to the Whatcom County website (page has been removed since the project was canceled), “The Department of Ecology & Whatcom County (co-lead agencies) have determined that the proposed Green Apple Renewable Fuels facility may have likely adverse impacts on the environment and are launching scoping for an environmental impact statement.”
Announced back in November 2018, the Green Apple Renewable Fuels Facility, a joint effort between Phillips 66 and Renewable Energy Group, would make diesel fuel from waste fats, oils, greases, animal fats and cooking oil. The facility would have been located within the Phillips 66 facility located at Lake Terrell and Unick Roads and made use of existing refinery tank storage, marine dock and rail and truck access.
Discover more from Whatcom News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
