Lakeview Biofuel Plant Proposal Raises Air Quality Concerns

by Cassandra Profita (KUOW.org) A project proposed in Lakeview, Oregon, would turn woody biomass from logging into biofuels for Southwest Airlines, the U.S. Navy and Marines.
The biofuel would have fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional jet fuel and diesel, but some worry the project might add to existing air quality problems in southern Oregon.
Red Rock Biofuels of Fort Collins, Colorado, received a $4.1 million design and engineering grant from the U.S. Department of Defense earlier to help develop the project.
On Friday, the department announced new contracts with the company to supply fuel to the U.S. Navy and Marines. This week, Southwest Airlines announced plans to buy 3 million gallons of the company's low-carbon jet fuel.
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But Lakeview resident Chris Zinda sees a problem looming. The area already has too much air pollution, he says, and a biofuel plant would add more.
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Zinda recently joined the Northwest Environmental Defense Center and several other environmental groups in petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency to reclassify Lakeview as a "non-attainment area" – or an area that doesn't meet air quality standards under the Clean Air Act. If successful, the petition would result in new rules that would require Red Rock Biofuels to reduce or offset its air emissions so it doesn't add to existing air pollution.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has recognized Lakeview's air quality problem. The levels of particulate matter in the air exceeds the federally allowed limit – mostly because of wood stove pollution that gets trapped in the area during weather inversions. READ MORE