The City of Eugene has pulled its approval for a proposed fuel transfer facility in the Trainsong neighborhood. City staff will now reconsider the application.
At the Eugene Clean Fuels Facility, workers would load biofuels from railcars onto an estimated 40 trucks per day. The site would be on railroad property off of Bethel Drive.
City staff initially approved the project's zone verification application in June. But neighbors later pushed back, citing concerns about the potential for noise and a fuel spill at the site. Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis also said she was worried about the proposal.
The environmental watchdog group Beyond Toxics then filed its intent to petition the city's zone verification to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, or LUBA.
On Friday, an attorney for the city sent a notice to LUBA, announcing that city staff had retracted the verification. The filing didn't provide a specific reason.
Beyond Toxics Executive Director Lisa Arkin told KLCC this shows a community's voice can have an impact. But she said it’s not yet a complete victory.
“The city will now have to revisit their decision and hopefully use the authority given to them by statutes and ordinances to make sure that this facility is not built in a residential area," said Arkin.
The City of Eugene and USD Clean Fuels, the company behind the application, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
