The Rayonier Advanced Materials plant on Gum Street near downtown Fernandina Beach. | Google
Published on August 27, 2025 at 4:57 pm
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Seven months after Fernandina Beach denied a proposal to build a controversial bioethanol plant just south of the city, Rayonier Advanced Materials has filed a $6.6 million claim against city officials.
The claim states that the City Commission wrongfully denied the project, basing its decision on a “misinterpretation” of the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code, the company’s attorneys said.
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The denial has caused the company to lose fair market and infringed on RYAM’s ability to use its property, the claim says.
City Manager Sarah Campbell would not comment about claim. She deferred to City Attorney Teresa Prince, who responded that the city “does not comment on matters which are pending litigation or are under threat of litigation.”
RYAM began efforts over a year and a half ago to expand its existing pulp mill site just south of downtown Fernandina to build a second-generation plant to produce bioethanol for sale.
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On its website, RYAM calls its Second Generation BioEthanol “a cleaner, greener alternative to fossil-fuel based gasoline” that will help sustain 300 local jobs, plus help property values and support the city’s economy.
Fernandina Beach city commissioners rejected the plant Feb. 6, reasoning that making bioethanol is akin to chemical manufacturing, which is not allowed under the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code.
A group called No Ethanol Fernandina also stated its opposition, saying the proposed $51 million Gum Street facility was too close to densely populated residential areas on Amelia Island and along the environmentally sensitive Amelia River. The project brought the potential for tanker trucks filled with ethanol driving to Fernandina Beach through State Road 200 and the Shave Bridge, opponents said.
“It is simply too dangerous,” the group’s website states. “Ethanol is highly flammable and carries substantial risk of accidental fires and explosions by producing it within a manufacturing site that already processes large quantities of other extremely hazardous and highly reactive chemicals.”
After the denial, RYAM filed a lawsuit Feb. 28 stating that the project is a permissible use under city codes and not chemical manufacturing. In part, the lawsuit states that the proposed method of creating biomethanol “relies on the same fermentation process used to make beer, yogurt and certain baked goods.”
“Once bioethanol is made through fermentation, it can be isolated depending on end use,” which would be a clean energy fuel source, the suit says.
A non-jury trial on the RYAM lawsuit is set for Aug. 31 next year, according to the county Clerk of Courts.
Meanwhile, RYAM’s $6.6 million claim says the company could sue if it can’t reach an acceptable settlement with Fernandina city officials.
No Ethanol Fernandina plans to hold a Legislative Town Hall meeting at 6 p.m. Sept. 11 to provide an update on RYAM’s project, get an update from its lobbying firm and answer questions from the community. The meeting will be at the Hampton Inn, 12 S. 2nd St.
