FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – Multiple groups in Nassau County are raising concerns about the impact a new bioethanol plant could have on the health of people who live nearby.
The concerns are over Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM), a planned bioethanol plant in Fernandina Beach.
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Rayonier is a chemical company that also manufactures products for lumber and paper.
Joyce Tuten, a former chemistry teacher and member of Conserve Nassau, described what RYAM wants to start producing in Nassau County.
“I’m a NOAA climate steward educator, so I’m a big fan of bioethanol particularly next-gen ethanol because it’s using a waste product to make a fuel,” Tuten said.
According to a page on the company’s website, the 2G BioEthanol they want to make will be a sustainable fuel and a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels.
It’ll be made using waste from trees.
Although Tuten is a fan of bioethanol, she was surprised when she heard the plant would be placed on the site of the existing facility in Fernandina Beach.
“Woah, wrong location,” Tuten said.
It’s a thought she and members of other groups in the area like Nassau Sierra Club and Fight the Domino Effect had, as well as residents who live right by the plant like Tom Budd.
“Just doesn’t make sense when it’s in the middle of a residential area,” Budd said.
Other residents News4JAX spoke with Friday said they’re concerned because:
- They’re not sure how the air quality from the bioethanol would impact them
- They wonder if and how it would affect the waterway behind the facility
- And want to know what would happen in the event a fire happens at the facility
Budd raised those concerns to the facility.
“Basically the corporate fluff. Puff pieces…,” Budd said. “They give you facts that support their position and gloss over the areas that would not support their position.”
News4JAX reached out to RYAM for comment. They sent this reply saying, in part:
“This is a very exciting new project. It will reduce local air emissions, help maintain local jobs and produce environmentally-friendly alternatives to fossil fuel-based products.”
Meanwhile, some people said they’re not opposed to the plant coming to Nassau County, but they simply want more answers.
“It could possibly be enough. Yeah, if they actually explained out their full risk management plan and exactly how the ethanol is contained and exactly how it’s separated from their chlorine gas, and how they plan to manage a fire, yeah maybe,” Tuten said.
Until that happens, the groups are asking residents to sign petitions and write letters to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to slow things down.
News4JAX also reached out to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the city for comment, and at the time of this publication, we hadn’t heard back.