Crag files latest challenge against proposed rail yard at Port Westward diesel refinery

Port Westward, OR— On July 17, Crag filed a new lawsuit in our ongoing efforts to challenge a rail yard associated with NEXT Renewables’ proposed non-conventional diesel refinery at Port Westward, OR. On behalf of 1000 Friends of Oregon, Columbia Riverkeeper, and mint farmer Mike Seely we appealed two land use permits for the rail yard. Columbia County finalized the permits on June 26, 2024. 

“Our community stands firm against this project. The rail yard would harm our farms by disrupting drainage, irrigation, and access to our crops. Just as worrisome, it puts the entire Columbia River Estuary at risk,” said Mike Seely, a local mint farmer in the drainage district that would be impacted by the proposed rail yard and refinery. “NEXT told us there would be no major rail impact. Breaking that promise has broken trust with our community.” 

The same groups and individuals successfully challenged similar land use permits for the rail yard in 2022. In response, NEXT reconfigured its proposal, but the same legal problem exists: the rail yard conflicts with zoning rules that protect farmland. As if to illustrate this point, NEXT’s new rail yard design caused the Port of Columbia County to evict local mint grower Warren Seely from land he was actively farming. 

Others are concerned about NEXT bringing long trains through Columbia County communities. “I live near St. Helens, where long trains would divide our towns. We were repeatedly assured that NEXT would avoid long trains,” said Carroll Sweet, chair of local activist group Envision Columbia County. “The new rail yard is a bad bait-and-switch.”

“Protecting productive farmlands and estuaries is critical in the face of climate change. Oregon’s irreplaceable farmland produces local food, estuaries provide rich habitat and food for an array of animals, and both sequester carbon,” said Mary Kyle McCurdy, Deputy Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon.