Green Apple Renewable Fuels, LLC (Green Apple) is proposing to build a renewable fuels facility to be co-located at the Phillips 66 refinery near Ferndale. The facility would process animal fats, cooking and vegetable oils, and grease into renewable fuels.
We’re at the start of the environmental review process. This occurs before any decisions are made on permits Green Apple will need to build and operate the plant. This review is done under SEPA, the State Environmental Policy Act.
We are working with Whatcom County as co-lead agencies on the environmental review for this proposed project.
Threshold determination
The first step in the SEPA process is called the threshold determination. The threshold determination is an evaluation of a proposal to determine whether it is likely to have any significant adverse environmental impacts. This determination is made by the co-leads and is documented in either a Determination of Non-significance or a Determination of Significance. If there is a determination of significance, then the co-leads would develop an environmental impact statement for the proposed project.
Consultation period
As part of the threshold determination process, the co-leads held a two-week consultation period to ask other agencies, tribes, and stakeholders for information about environmental concerns, possible impacts, and ideas for mitigating those impacts. This consultation period ran from Oct. 23 – Nov. 6, 2019. The co-leads will consider the feedback received during the comment period when making the threshold determination.
Environmental impacts
Green Apple submitted a SEPA checklist — a standard form that requests information about several categories of environmental impacts — and several other draft project documents. The co-leads will use information from the checklist, project documents, and comments received during the consultation period to objectively and thoroughly evaluate the likely environmental impacts and make the threshold determination.
Please see our SEPA FAQ to learn more about the environmental review process.
Project details
According to Green Apple’s checklist, the plant would cover about 18 acres of developed and undeveloped land within the Phillips 66 property and would include:
- A new renewable fuel production facility
- A new on-site hydrogen plant, adjacent to the renewable diesel production facility
- Additions and modifications to the Phillip 66 Ferndale Refinery’s existing rail and truck facilities to support handling of animal fats, cooking and vegetable oils, and grease and renewable product logistics
- New, separate storage tanks for the fats, oils, grease, and renewable product
- New internal pipelines or tie-ins between existing pipelines to carry feedstock and production materials (renewable diesel, renewable propane, renewable jet fuel, and renewable naphtha)
- Whatcom County Public Utility District No. 1 electrical substation upgrades
- Cascade Natural Gas pipeline upgrade to natural gas supply (approximately seven miles of new pipeline co-located with current pipeline)
Potential project impacts described in Green Apple’s submittals include:
- Increased vessel traffic
- Filled and modified wetland habitat
- Greenhouse gas emissions
The plant could produce about 250 million gallons of renewable fuel products per year, including renewable diesel, with minor products of renewable naphtha and renewable propane. It would use existing ship, rail, and truck facilities at Phillips 66 to receive feedstock and ship out the finished product.
Threshhold determination process
The co-leads are responsible for completing a fair, thorough, and transparent environmental review of this project.
Evaluate proposed project
The co-leads are reviewing the SEPA checklist and other documents to evaluate possible environmental impacts.
Two-week consultation period
As part of the review, the co-leads held a two-week consultation period from Oct. 23 - Nov. 6, 2019, to gather feedback from tribes, stakeholders, state, federal and local agencies, and the public.
Consider comments received
The co-leads will consider all comments before making a threshold determination. They will not be creating a comment response or summary document as part of this process.
Make threshold determination
The co-leads will make a threshold determination and hold another opportunity for public comment.
- For a Determination of Non-significance or Mitigated Determination of Non-significance, a two-week comment period will be held.
- For a Determination of Significance, a two to four-week scoping period will be held. The co-leads will collect comments to help them determine the full extent of the environmental review and contents of the EIS.
SEPA process
Ecology and Whatcom County (co-lead agencies) have started the environmental review process for the Green Apple Renewable Fuels project. We are currently evaluating the State Environmental Policy Act checklist and draft project documents. The next step will be to make a threshold determination.
Draft project documents
Consultation is an informal process that can be held early in the SEPA review timeline before the threshold determination is made (WAC 197-11-335). Lead agencies can seek information from other agencies and stakeholders about potential project impacts. The co-leads asked tribes, state and local agencies, and stakeholders for input before making a threshold determination.
The consultation will help Ecology and Whatcom County make a fair, objective, and thoughtful decision about the threshold determination.
After the co-leads have fully evaluated the project documents and considered input gathered during the consultation period, they will make a threshold determination.
The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) outlines a process for identifying and analyzing potential environmental impacts associated with government decisions. These decisions may be related to issuing permits for private projects, constructing public facilities, or adopting Green Apple's regulations, policies, and plans.
The SEPA review process helps agency decision-makers, applicants, and the public understand how the entire proposal will affect the environment.
A lead agency is designated to evaluate the proposal and determine the level of impact it will have on the environment. This will dictate the level of environmental review. The lead agency makes a formal decision called a threshold determination for the project in one of three categories:
- Determination of Nonsignificance — The project is not likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts
- Determination of Mitigated nonsignificance — The project could have significant adverse environmental impacts, but measures (mitigation) can be taken to avoid, reduce, or eliminate those impacts
- Determination of Significance — The project will likely result in significant impacts. The lead agency begins the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. An EIS provides the public and lead agency a more thorough review of the project than what’s typically submitted in the SEPA checklist
The environmental review (SEPA) process helps agencies and the public evaluate options for protecting people and the environment, on projects that require environmental permits. The SEPA review process looks at a wide range of potential project impacts including natural resources (plants, animals, water, etc.) and built environment (traffic, noise, etc.). The SEPA process gives important information to permit decision makers about potential environmental impacts and options for reducing impacts.
Environmental permits ensure that businesses comply with all federal and state environmental standards. We will evaluate detailed information provided in permit applications specific to an environmental element (for example, air or water) as draft permits are developed for the project.
Per WAC 197-11-938(9), Ecology is the designated lead agency for “proposals to construct facilities on a single site designed for, or capable of, storing a total of one million or more gallons of any liquid fuel not under the jurisdiction of EFSEC.” EFSEC (Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council) sent a determination letter to the applicant on Oct. 8, 2019, indicating that they were not the lead agency.
We asked Whatcom County to co-lead the SEPA process because of their local insight and perspective. It’s important for the state to consider local issues and conditions when making a decision that will impact communities. Subject matter experts at both the county and state level will review and offer feedback on the project documents. The co-leads will make joint decisions.
From Oct. 23 -Nov. 6, 2019, the co-leads held a two-week comment period to accept comments on the SEPA checklist and other project documents before they make a threshold determination.
Once the determination is made, a second comment period will be held and additional comments will be accepted. Opportunities for public involvement are a part of the SEPA process and allow input at the earliest project stages of a proposal.
A list of the anticipated permits and decisions is included below. After the SEPA environmental review is completed, permit decisionmakers will use the information to help them decide if permits should be granted, conditioned or declined.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 Individual Wetland Permit
- CWA Section 404 Nationwide Wetland Permit (for geotechnical investigation)
Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology)
- CWA Section 401 Water Quality Certification
- Coastal Zone Management Consistency Certification
- National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Construction Stormwater General Permit
- NPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permit
- Potentially Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Permit
- State Waste Discharge Permit
Northwest Clean Air Agency (NWCAA)
- Notice of Construction (NOC) Air Permit Application
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) for temporary barge landing (to facilitate off-loading of large, process equipment/vessels and/or equipment modules)
- HPA for work within ditches/streams at the proposed mitigation site
Washington Department of Natural Resources
- Authorization that proposed activity is consistent with current aquatic lands lease
Whatcom County
- Potentially Major Project Permit Application
- Natural Resources Notification of Activity (for geotechnical investigation)
- SEPA Threshold Determination
- Land Disturbance Permit
- Commercial Building Permits
- Fire System Permit
- Solid waste (spent filter aid) authorization for landfill or digester
- Revocable Encroachment Permits (for new road access point to Lake Terrell Road and temporary barge landing)
- Shoreline permit (for temporary barge landing)
- Moving Permit (for temporary barge landing)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Risk Management Plan (RMP) associated with storage of renewable propane
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) waste registration number and generator status
- Fuel and Fuel Additive producer Registration System Part 79 registration
- Renewable Fuel Standards producer registration and “pathway” applications for each proposed feedstock. Includes third-party engineering review.
Final permit decisions cannot made until the SEPA process is completed. SEPA documents are considered by agencies when making permit decisions.