The city of Vancouver approved NuStar Energy’s plans to retrofit two its terminals to handle ethanol, as long as it officially drops its application to handle crude oil.
“As a mitigation condition of approval, the applicant must withdraw (its application) relating to handling and storage of crude oil,” the city wrote in its decision, which was released Thursday. “Once withdrawn, the site would not be allowed to handle crude oil, as it is no longer allowed by the Land Use & Development Code.”
In addition to dropping the oil application, NuStar will have to pay the Vancouver Fire Department an annual fee and 2.5 cents on every barrel handled, up to $100,000 per year, to cover personnel training, hazardous material team planning, and other costs.
NuStar officials said they are pleased with the city’s decision and the company “has no issue” in withdrawing its crude oil application and proceeding with the biofuel conversion project.
“(The city’s decision) is an important step toward the development of and permitting for our proposed project, which supports the regional low-carbon fuel standards and also decreases the cost of bringing these renewable energy products to market,” NuStar spokesman Greg Matula said in an email to The Columbian.
Matula also noted that the local NuStar site hasn’t had a reportable spill in more than a decade.
NuStar plans to handle ethanol, the corn-based alternative fuel often mixed into gasoline, at its terminals located at 2565 N.W. Harborside Drive and 5420 N.W. Fruit Valley Road.
The company would also install a new vapor combustion system to catch and destroy vapors while the ethanol is unloaded.
The fuel would be stored in its two existing 4.2 million-gallon tanks — one of that now holds jet fuel and another that has sat empty for about five years. The ethanol would come in by rail or be transferred for shipment via the Columbia River or the regional highways.
The company anticipates handling roughly 32 rail cars and between 10 to 20 truckloads of ethanol per day. Truck and rail traffic isn’t expected to increase, because it will displace shipments made in relation to NuStar’s methanol operations.
“Over the years, the company has responded to a number of market-driven conditions and new customer opportunities, which have resulted in changes in the commodities it handles at the Port of Vancouver,” NuStar wrote in its planning document for the biofuel conversion.
In 2015, NuStar released plans to retrofit its site to handle an average of 22,000 barrels of oil per day, though that proposal foundered at the requirement of an environmental impact statement — usually a long and costly process. Shortly after, NuStar switched to ethanol.
The oil proposal was met with stiff opposition from many members of the community.
“Local Vancouver residents really raised the alarm,” said Dan Serres, conservation director of the nonprofit organization Columbia Riverkeeper. “We’re still reviewing the ethanol part, but we’re frankly thrilled we’re down to one major oil terminal.”
The city of Vancouver passed a ban on crude oil facilities in July. However, the ban didn’t have any effect on NuStar’s application to handle crude oil because the company’s preliminary application was in review at the city before the ban went into effect.
NuStar is based in San Antonio and has been a port tenant since 2006. It employs about 25 people.
Jon Wagner, senior planner at the city of Vancouver, said the move would guarantee the company couldn’t switch out ethanol for oil some time in the future.
“Then it goes away, unless the city somehow rescinds the ban and allows it to go forward,” Wagner said.
NuStar has until 4 p.m. April 5 to appeal the city’s decision.
