If you listen to the morning news on radio station KQQQ, you’d know they have been closely following the story about the proposed biodiesel plant in Pullman. The Port of Whitman County has entered into a contract to purchase the land as part of a public-private partnership for the construction of a biodiesel plant on the edge of Pullman.
The information about the biodiesel plant has been very hush-hush. I understand why they would be quiet about the land purchases until those were completed. I am not sure why they are being very quiet about the plant itself. I believe they are damaging the chances of this project to succeed.
Maybe they have a public relations firm telling them to be quiet about it. There may be good reasons for the radio silence. But at this time, it isn’t clear why.
I would like to think the people running the company know what they’re doing and they are going to put together a public education campaign. The problem is they are getting behind the 8 ball quickly. The fact that people don’t know anything is causing them to think worst-case scenario.
According to news reports, the Port of Whitman County will purchase several hundred acres of land along State Route 195 and along Old Wawawai Road. The acreage is adjacent to the new home construction along the Old Wawawai Road corridor.
There are a number of “not in my backyard” neighbors speaking loudly. I completely understand. They bought a house in a residential zone. Now their land may be adjacent to a heavy industrial zone. Do you suppose they would have bought elsewhere if they knew what could be coming?
I tried to research the company, AgTech OS, and what I found was not expected. I first found the company’s LinkedIn profile. They have two to 10 employees and they are based in Pullman. The company was founded in 2022. I found they have a web domain farmfuel.tech/. The Whois records for the domain are hidden, but I saw it was registered in August 2022.
I went to their website to see what I could find.
According to the website, the plant will have three purposes: “biodiesel production, seed meal production, and 1,3-propanediol production.” The chemical called 1,3-Propanediol sounds scary. Don’t let the scary name fool you. There are chemicals in your home that are more hazardous.
I found a map that shows where the plant will be located. Assuming they will place the plant in the middle of the land to provide a buffer space, it means the closest properties could be 1,000 feet away.
AgTech OS claims there will be no smell due to the plant being indoors with an HVAC system. Noise will not be a problem because the plant will be enclosed. They say they will reuse 95% of the water and they will get a lot of their energy from solar panels.
Their building will be huge, coming in at approximately 550,000 square feet. That would fit nearly 3½ Walmart-sized buildings inside of it.
This is a venture that will cost more than $110 million and employ about 40 people when fully operational.
Based on what is currently available, it appears AgTech OS is a local business. They claim they will have a positive impact on economics and taxes in the area.
I like the idea of a local company providing positive economic development. I, along with others, question the wisdom of the location. It is up to the company to convince us otherwise, but they are not working very hard to do so.
I will continue to research biodiesel plant smells, noise, safety issues, and the possible abatement of these concerns. AgTech OS should be working to educate the public and alleviate the concerns of the neighbors.
Anderson was the co-host and producer of a conservative talk radio show before hanging up the headphones. He has a degree in philosophy and enjoys photography, woodworking, and sports. When not computer programming, he volunteers in the community.
