David vs. Goliath:

community victory for Eugene neighbors

By Kelsey Dunn | April 20, 2025

Forty one-way tanker trucks would’ve rumbled down the street alongside school bus stops and families’ front yards. Photo by Jim Allen, Freight Waves.

When I joined Crag as a legal fellow last September, I did not expect to be filing my first case within just a few weeks of starting. But that’s exactly where I found myself when our longtime clients Beyond Toxics alerted us to a proposed biofuel transfer station in West Eugene.

Residents in the West Eugene neighborhood of Trainsong learned about the fuel transfer facility late in the summer, and were concerned about the project’s environmental, health, and safety impacts. Trainsong is an environmental justice community, and already bears the burden of 32 existing industrial sites in its zip code. Highly flammable ethanol, renewable diesel, biodiesel, and sustainable aviation fuel would be delivered to the Eugene railyard by train, then transferred to tanker trucks for distribution. The proposed plan had 40 one-way tanker trucks rumble down the street alongside school bus stops and families’ front yards between 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Community members were understandably worried.

 Trainsong neighbors rallied around safety and pollution concerns. Photo by KEZI, Allen Broadcast Media. 

Thanks to Eugene neighbors’ community organizing, the City withdrew its approval for the proposed plan. Photo by Visitor7 via WikiMedia Commons. License  bit.ly/4ieqB86.

As a new attorney, it was exciting to see how our legal tools and expertise could be leveraged to give community members the legal backing and platform to be heard. While the appeal we filed laid the foundation for the City to reconsider its original decision, it was entirely community efforts and organizing that kept the City accountable to its land use laws. 

In denying the permit, the City determined after further investigation that the site is zoned for I-3 Heavy Industrial use, and that the proposed facility is a “regional distribution center,” which is not a permitted use within that zone. The City’s change of course on this critical part of the zone verification decision is a reflection of how legal pressure can lead to better decision-making in alignment with local laws and community needs.

That said, this experience reinforced the fact that communities should not have to go to such great lengths to have their voices heard.

Reflecting on my first six months at Crag, I feel grateful to have the support and the opportunity to jump right into the work that is central to Crag’s mission: protecting our environment, climate, and communities by responding to client needs based on their ongoing grassroots efforts. But this story isn’t over yet! The company has filed its own appeal before the Land Use Board of Appeals challenging the City’s recent denial of its zone verification request. We will continue to represent Beyond Toxics to defend the permit denial alongside the City and ensure the community’s voice remains central to the decision making.