Posted on June 9, 2008

Richmond Looks at Updating Regulations as Interest from Biofuel Developers Grows

By Katherine Tam
STAFF WRITER

More developers are calling Richmond City Hall to inquire about opening a biofuel facility, prompting city planners to start updating regulations that were passed before alternative fuels began gaining momentum. The biofuel industry has evolved so fast that city laws have not kept pace. Those laws, adopted in 1997, do not specify where such facilities should go, what they should look like and how they should operate.

"Things are happening so quickly in this field that it's kind of run out ahead of the regulations," Planning and Building Director Richard Mitchell told the City Council.

The average national price of unleaded gasoline soared to $4 a gallon on Monday, up from $3.09 a gallon one year ago, AAA reported. The cost per gallon in the Bay Area hovers about $4.40. In recent years, drivers trying to keep a lid on their pocketbooks have turned to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars or public transportation. And interest in powering vehicles with alternative or blended fuels is mounting.

Biofuels are produced from organic products such as plants and crops, and are being viewed as a way to reduce global dependence on oil and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

At Richmond City Hall, planners are fielding more inquiries from companies that want to build biofuel production and distribution plants or modify an existing facility into one that can handle biofuel. Some applicants and city planners have disagreed about whether such plants should be categorized as hazardous materials, whether they are considered a heavy industrial use or a light industrial use, and if they should be allowed near residential neighborhoods.

City planners on May 20 suggested passing a 180-day moratorium on new applications so they would have time to update regulations.

City Council members instead directed city staff to meet with local business leaders to discuss how such facilities should be sited and regulated, and report back in 45 days. Some clarity is needed, council members said.

"A small biodiesel (facility) that uses vegetable oil is not a problem, but the bigger fuel usage and refining of something like ethanol would be a problem," Mayor Gayle McLaughlin said. [emphasis added]

Representatives of the Council of Industries and the Richmond Chamber of Commerce had objected to a moratorium, saying it could impede economic development and push developers to look elsewhere.

"You could have oils coming from restaurants that are usually dumped that you have a good economic value for here as opposed to tank loads of ethanol come in," said Jim Bates, a Novato resident who is executive director of the Council of Industries. "When you have that large variety, putting a moratorium on everything is not reasonable. It's reasonable to study it."

Reach Katherine Tam at 510-262-2787 or ktam@bayareanewsgroup.com.