Bio-refinery company asks for tax break extension
Saturday, March 17, 2007 11:47 PM PDT
Larry Meyer Argus Observer
ONTARIO
The Nyssa City Council became the first local elected board to approve a move by Treasure Valley Renewable Resources to extend the tax exemption for the company’s proposed bio-refinery from three to five years.
The tax exemption focuses on the Malheur County Enterprise Zone and covers property taxes normally assessed on new plants and equipment. TVRR has asked to extend the tax exemption from three to five years.
Under Oregon law, enterprise zones were established to help local governments provide tax incentives to help attract private business, according to information from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, on its Web site.
Supporters of the $77 million bio-refinery concept assert it will create more than 60 jobs for the local economy. A number of key local political leaders, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the Oregon Department of Economic Development (OECDD) worked to get TVRR to situate the plant in Malheur County.
In January 2004 the Malheur County Court approved an ordinance to create an M-3 Agricultural Processing Zone for a parcel of land south of Ontario for the proposed plant. The land was previously zoned exclusive farm use. The site of the proposed bio-refinery was not originally in the enterprise zone, which was expanded to include it.
TVRR is still going through the regulatory process of obtaining air quality and water quality permits from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and is scheduled to go before the Malheur County Planning Commission for the site review process in June.
The council gave its blessing to the agreement Tuesday, according to Nyssa City Manager Bill Ewing. The cities of Vale and Ontario, plus the Malheur County Court must also approve the plan.
To get the tax exemption extension, TVRR has to receive approval of the zone sponsors, Jim Jensen, Malheur County economic development director, said.
“They have a right to ask for that,” he said. “It’s not special treatment.”
The enterprise zone was one of the main elements of tax incentives TVRR officials were told they could apply for to encourage them to locate their facility in Oregon, specifically in Malheur County.
Scott Ballo, a spokesperson for OECDD, estimated the property tax exemption TVRR will garner during five years to be $4.4 million, minus depreciation. The total tax break the company could garner — including energy tax credits, bonding assistance, workforce training assistance and transportation improvements — stands at between $7 million and $8 million, Ballo said.
Stephanie Williams, Malheur County counsel, said TVRR officials submitted a pre-qualification application with the county for the extended tax exemption and the various taxing entities within Tax Code 15 were notified.
All of the entities, except for the Rural Road Assessment District No. 3 and Ontario Rural Fire Protection District, approved the extension.
However, Williams said in talks, mediated by the county, the company agreed to pay the road district $10,000 per year.
“That’s to help them improve the road while TVRR is under construction,” she said.
Also, the rural fire district will receive $20,000 per year, to cover impacts on the department by the construction of the facility, according to the agreement. These include impacts as related to specific training and equipment requirements of the department in responding to any fire, rescue or haz-mat incidents at the bio-refinery.
Under the agreement, these payments in lieu of taxes, which would otherwise be collected by those two districts, are scheduled to begin in 2006, with the payments to the road district set to end in 2010 and the payments to the fire district to sunset in 2012.
