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Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Wayne Mayo, Betsy Johnson, Brad Witt, Former President Trump, Henry Heimuller, Joe Biden, Pat Robertson, Joe Biden’s dogs, or Claudia Eagle’s Cats. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone.
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Bio Refinery Plant
Proposed Columbia County’s Diesel Fuel Refinery
There is some great news happening in Columbia County. NEXT Renewable diesel fuel refinery will be Union built and Union operated. NEXT is a Huston based company, Next has been trying to build a plant at Port Westward for several years it seemed that the facility was at a standstill. In 2020 their representative Lou Soumas was arrested for having sex with a minor girl. He was immediately fired and another person, Mr. Meritt took over his position and things seem to have taken a turn and progress has been made in actually having the proposal moving forward. The company has recommitted in employing union tradesman in construction of the plant and union employees, this would provide 800 union construction jobs and 200 full time union employees in our county. NEXT choose Port Westward for its deep-water port and its rail, and nearness to West Coast demand centers in California. NEXT has applied for all its permits and hope for approval by 2022. The demand for non-petroleum sources is being driven by Oregon and California’s low carbo standards as spoken by John Mohlis who was the former leaders of the Oregon building Trades council and whom is now employed by NEXT as a labor and government relations consultant on the Port Westward project. The facility would not start operation until 2024, but would add a tremendous amount to the county’s tax base. A base which the county needs. Industry is a must for a solid tax base for any county. NEXT will convert used cooking oils, animal tallow, seed oil, and soy oil into what is called Advanced Green Diesel. The difference between renewal diesel and biodiesel is that biodiesel has a poor shelf life and performs poorly in cold weather. It has the same tendencies as in chemically identical as diesel that is made from petroleum and can be added directly into regular diesel tanks. All products will be transported in by ships and exported by ships. Only small bits used in production will be transported by rail. This would be the first project by NEXT. Although there is a facility in Louisiana. I am hopeful that this company will come through and be a long-lasting company at Port Westward. Columbia County needs the 200 jobs that NEXT will bring, it is a wait and see game right now and anything could happen one way or the other.
Tammy
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