Prineville council pauses decision on UGB expansion, hears months of technical and community testimony on proposed 42 MW woody-biomass project

Prineville — City staff and consultants presented the Prineville Renewable Energy Project (PREP) and a companion Economic Opportunity Analysis (EOA) during a consolidated public hearing on proposed ordinances to update the EOA and expand the urban growth boundary (UGB). After hours of public testimony that ranged from technical questions about air emissions and water use to concerns about farmland and truck traffic, the City Council voted to table the ordinances to allow further community engagement.

The PREP would be a 42-megawatt woody-biomass cogeneration plant; Caroline Irvin, the city’s director of strategy and economic development, told the council the plant “would generate carbon neutral base load power” and could produce steam usable by nearby industry. Irvin said the project aims to create a local market for forest-thinning material and other low-value woody residuals, which city presenters say would support forest health and wildfire-risk reduction while producing local electricity and new tax revenue.

City planning director Joshua Smith explained the land-use steps that prompted the current ordinances: the existing EOA is outdated and Oregon law requires an up-to-date EOA before a UGB expansion. Smith stressed the land-use ordinances before council do not approve construction of any biomass facility: “the ordinances do not…approve the biomass facility,” he told the council. He said facility siting, permitting and air-quality review would occur in later, separate land-use and state permitting processes.

Why it matters: the EOA and UGB items are a threshold step in a multistage process that could enable a facility site to be moved inside the city’s UGB and into a heavy-industrial designation. That designation, once in place and later annexed, would allow future applications for industrial uses to be reviewed under city standards; opponents said rezoning farmland to heavy industrial could permanently change land values, visibility and rural character.

Presenters and technical detail: consultants and staff described benefits the city could receive, including an estimated $2.346 million annual direct impact to the city from property taxes and franchise fees (staff presentation), and potential long-term rail revenue increases. Rob Roeberg, a project technical presenter, described the combustion and emissions-control technology proposed for the facility, including particulate controls and a CO catalyst, and said “25% of your capital cost goes into that emission system to make this a safe project.” He and other presenters said the project team is working with Oregon DEQ and the Clean Air Oregon process and that technology modeled for the plant is designed to meet stringent state thresholds.

Public testimony: more than two dozen speakers addressed the council. Supporters, including representatives of local economic development and residents with forest-health concerns, said the plant could create jobs, provide baseload power in a constrained regional market and create a market for juniper and low-value woody material used in forest restoration. Opponents raised concerns about water consumption, truck traffic and rail logistics, dust from nearby gravel operations, long-term fuel supply, air emissions, ash disposal and the loss of farmland and views. Several residents near existing mining operations described long-running dust and noise impacts and said they fear similar problems from new heavy industrial neighbors.

Council deliberation and action: after staff, consultant presentations and public testimony, Councilor Huffman moved and Councilor Smith seconded a motion to table action on Ordinance 1313(o1) and the EOA update to allow further vetting and broader community involvement. The motion passed on a roll-call vote (Huffman—aye; Smith—aye; Howard—nay; Hutchison—aye; Sumner—nay; Mayor/President—aye). Councilors and staff said tabling would be followed by a more structured community process and additional opportunities for workshops or hearings before any final vote.

Next steps and limits: staff emphasized that even if the UGB expansion were later approved, separate land-use, county and state permitting (including DEQ air permits and any DOGAMI reclamation/permits tied to prior mining) would still be required before a facility could be built. Joshua Smith said the county and state approvals remain necessary and that an approved EOA/UGB expansion alone would not authorize construction of a biomass facility. The council asked staff to plan a broader public process and to return with options for community engagement and information-sharing before bringing the ordinances back to council.

Ending: With the ordinances tabled, the city’s immediate decision was paused. Councilors and staff repeatedly told residents the matter remains open to further study and public input, and that detailed technical review — air permits, traffic and water-supply studies and site-specific mitigation — would come later in the permitting chain.