As many of you have heard, a top priority for the Nassau County Sierra Group is opposing Rayonier’s proposal to build an ethanol plant on their property in the City. Ethanol, as renewable biofuel, is a good idea for America’s future however when being sited within the densely populated community of Fernandina Beach it is not a good idea for ‘our future’.
Typically, ethanol plants are located in rural communities on large pieces of property away from residences and dwellings to limit fire & safety problems, and limit complaints from residents.
There are many things about the manufacturing of cellulosic ethanol that will affect local residents. Please email the City Commissioners asking that they create a city meeting about this very serious issue.
If you'd like talking points on this, a few of the big points are:
- Fernandina residents have had no chance to participate in a public forum on a potential cellulosic ethanol plant being put in their backyard.
- The City Comprehensive Plan prohibits chemical processing and refining.
- The ethanol process is very dangerous when placed on the edge of a densely populated (within a quarter of a mile) of residential neighborhoods.
- Ethanol plants have a history of explosions. There have been five in the last 1-1/2 years across America.
- Ethanol production water use is extensive, 4-5 gallons for every gallon produced. According to Rayonier’s proposal they will produce 7.5 million gallons per year.
- Antibiotics are often used in the fermentation process. If 7.5 million + gallons of effluent are released into the Amelia River, it bodes poorly for our aquatic residents including fish, dolphins, manatees, crabs, sea turtles, sharks, otters, oysters and other animals that share our environment.
- Even utilizing state-of-the-art technology, controlling emissions may be problematic over time. FDEP has told Nassau Sierra that it will only require ‘one' air quality report from the processing plant when it goes on-line, not one every year that it’s in production.
- More trucks on an already failing road like 200 and 8th Street do no one in this community any good.
- Effects of light pollution are a problem.
- Ethanol plants generate noise. What site buffers will minimize this problem in a residential area?
- A corporation and it’s out of country owner (Bourregard and LignoTech) shouldn't have more of a say about what happens in our community than residents do.
Commissioners, it's for time for you to represent the best interests of the community, to be pro-active and not sell out to a production process that will potentially affect our health, our property values, and our aquatic environment!
City Commission email addresses:
Thank you,
Nassau County Sierra Group Executive Community