The proposed Valliscor chemical plant site on Ferry Street when I stopped my bike there Nov. 3, 2024.
The City of Albany’s Community Development Department has just given neighbors of a proposed chemical factory on Ferry Street notice that the site plan for the project is being considered.
The city’s public notice, dated Dec. 9, was sent to property owners within 300 feet of the boundaries of the 13-acre site at 2435-2445 Ferry St. S.W.
The site plan shows a 16,000-square-foot manufacturing building and a 15,000-square-foot chemical storage area.
Neighbors have until Dec. 23 to submit comments, which the notice says must relate to the approval standards in Albany’s development code.
The city’s development standards cover land use topics such as setbacks and street access. But they also include environmental standards and compatibility with surrounding land uses.
Valliscor is based on the HP campus in Corvallis. On its website, the company said it “specializes in the commercial manufacture of high-value compounds containing the element fluorine — particularly materials that require production under specific requirements due to their regulated properties.”
When I first reported on this project on Nov. 14, some commenters were concerned about the nature of the plant. There are houses on two corners of the property.
The initial decision on the site plan is up to the planning staff. The planning commission gets involved only if the staff decision is appealed. (hh)
The Valliscor site is outlined in red on this map included with the city’s notice.
And here’s a copy of the site plan the city included with its public notice.
Everyone, ya know, needs to calm the heck down and trust that zoning laws and trustworthy politicians and bureaucrats will make the best decision.
I mean, these are public servants. Know what I’m saying? They know what is best for the common good.
And this is a public process. Nothing is done in secret, right? What can go wrong?
Albany citizens need to be sent to re-education camps to learn how government works. Just ask ex-city employee and frequent commenter Bob Woods. He’s obviously an expert on these matters.
Mr. Woods is living rent free in your noggin. Just so you know.
Awwwww, Gordon. You make me blush with your outpouring of envy.
Thank you for highlighting this issue. It is ridiculous to put a chemical plant in a residential area. Not only are people at risk, but also property values.
If you check with the City, I think you’ll find that the area was zoned for Light Industrial a very long time ago, the 1990’s or earlier. Pacific Cast Technologies, just north, shares a boundary with the lot in question.
If you go to cityofalbany.net and click on Building & Planning you can click on maps and see the zonings going back into the late 1990′. If you’ll call them you’ll find that they can go back even farther to see when the area was originally classified for Light Industrial.
Looks like there could be a better thing to put there.
I personally wouldnt want a chemical plant anywhere in the city.
Chemical companies havent got a very good reputation for keeping things safe.
And in this state, i wouldnt want to have count on any of the oversight in place ,to make sure its functioning properly.
if you want to have input on what the lot is used for you will need to buy it first
It seems like every city should have an industrial site far away from residential areas.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, I’m out in the country. But on your last post about it someone said why not out by Millersburg? Like the old International Paper Mill site?Putting it at this location is both unsafe and stupid.
International Paper owned that paper mill for about a nano second. They got it in a deal to take it off Weyerhauser’s hands and dismantle it when Weyerh. took it in 2002 from Willamette Ind. (and/or Western Kraft) who built it in 1955. Weyerhaeuser got it in a hostile takeover, which was facilitated by Wall Street shareholders, of course. I get fed up with how ignorant Hasso’s loyal followers are of the history of Albany and Linn County.
International Paper (IP) owned the Albany Paper Mill for more than a nanosecond. After the 2002 hostile takeover of Willamette Industries, Weyerhaeuser sold its entire packaging business to IP (containerboard mills, box, sheet and bag plants) in 2006. IP ran the mill until 2009 when the “great recession” fundamentally affected the supply/demand for IP’s packaging business. IP needed to take out X amount of supply from its supply chain and, unfortunately, the Albany mill took the hit. The Albany Paper Mill was just one piece of a very large business.
I know the Albany Paper Mill was one piece of a large business. But, from 2002 until 2009 is a nano second in big business annals; that is only 7 years. And Western Kraft (i.e., Willamette Ind.) built that paper mill from ground up and opened it in 1955. So, the paper mill should not be referred to as IP paper mill. IP was a place-holder. IP was just running it while making up their mind how to dismantle it. The fact that Clinton sent all big manufacturing overseas made it so that we do not need a lot of containers (cardboard boxes as we lay people call them) in this country anymore. That is what happened to the paper mill. It made linerboard, which is brown paper used in the manufacture of “cardboard” boxes.
“Clinton sent manufacturing overseas.” LOL!
U.S. manufacturing peaked in the late 1970s, not the late 1990s. Maybe the fact that labor overseas is often far cheaper had something to do with why corporations chose to offshore many of the factory jobs that Americans disliked anyway. Even funnier is the claim that there is less demand for cardboard now. The demand for corrugated has absolutely EXPLODED since the advent of online shopping. All this information is easily accessible to everyone with an internet connection. Try doing a little research before posting your opinions as facts.
is there anything wrong in your world that is not Clintons fault?
Correction on my part: Actually, it seems it was only 3 years that IP had the paper mill…from 2006 until 2009. Willamette Industries/Western Kraft opened it in 1955 and operated it until 2002 when Weyerhaeuser’s hostile takeover took place…that is 57 years.
Tim, why don’t you stick your …..sorry, almost got carried away after reading your hateful, demeaning request that I do more research. I don’t think the boxes that Amazon uses are made in the U.S. to any great extent. They are made overseas. I just looked at an Amazon box I have, and, yes, it was made overseas. Clinton came up with NAFTA trade agreement, and that is what completely closed the door on manufacturing here. And, it has never come back to any extent. (Amazon is consolidating more shipments and using less plastic cushioning. Seems you don’t know everything there is to know after all!)
This is a math problem. Just like the dump expansion, it’s a done deal.
Why is this going in Albany when it is part of HP, they have plenty of room at their cite. I would not want this in my neighborhood.
Valliscor is not part of HP, it is a separate company that leases space in one of HP’s vacant buildings. The building that Valliscor is in, is totally full and there is no room for growth.
Based in Corvallis….put it in Corvallis.
My concern would be polluting the air , land and water. Also the smell. We live by metal factory and it can be smelly.
Fluorine gas is used to create other chemical compounds, such as uranium hexafluoride, which is used in nuclear reactors and weapons.
According to the map you presented with the city site plan, right next to this site is a wetland area. Really? The city wants to put toxic substances right next to a wetland? If I lived in this neighborhood I would be furious.
They specialize in making flourine precursors for pharmaceuticals such as Flonase nasal spray. Everything is made of chemicals. It’s a locally owned company with every incentive to be safe. It’s not like the proposed location is some lovely spot. Pacific cast is already there doing way more messy and dangerous stuff. Albany needs high tech, locally owned businesses that provide good jobs and contribute to a positive balance of trade for the city. We don’t need Chicken Littles and NIMBYS.
Our neighborhood may not meet the requirements for being a “Lovely spot”, but it is a neighborhood filled with enough families that matter.
Putting these chemicals right in the middle of a residential area is not a wise or safe decision.
This is from the Dec. 3, 2024 “Today in History” column in the local D-H newspaper:
“On Dec., 3, 1984, a cloud of methyl isocyanate gas escaped from a pesticide plant operated by a Union Carbide subsidiary in Bhopal, India, causing an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 deaths and more than 500,000 injuries.”
OK Tim, What pray tell does CPP have that is more dangerous than Fluorine, or Chlorine?
They have some stuff there that you do not want to drink or dump on yourself, but it doesn’t travel off the plant site in any concentrations.
Found this on wikapedia:
Fluorine is a chemical element; it has symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen[note 1] and exists at standard conditions as pale yellow diatomic gas. Fluorine is extremely reactive as it reacts with all other elements except for the light inert gases. It is highly toxic.
Notice the last sentence…they want to put this near neighborhoods? They cannot guarantee that there would be no accidents and when they eventually shut down loperations the taxpayer will be saddled with cost of toxic site cleanup. just my opinion. pat
“Toxic site cleanup” is not typically funded by taxpayers directly. It is paid for by superfund, which is funded by industry. Fluorine is an element that has many uses, including common, over-the-counter medications. This company should be tightly regulated and have to meet the highest safety standards, but if zoning allows it, they should be free to locate in the city. We need jobs. We need a solid tax base. We need businesses that produce goods for export.
Go ahead and fill the wetland. DSL says we are losing 500 acres a year and they “Don’t know where it’s going.” BTW the Police Department building is on a wetlands.
How can this not wake up every person from 60 miles away? We are in danger in the middle of Albany, not to mention the surrounding.. how many miles around. That area is residential. What’s wrong with these people? Would they put it in their neighborhoods?
Fluorine is extremely reactive as it reacts with all other elements except for the light inert gases. It is highly toxic.
Elemental fluorine is highly toxic to living organisms. Its effects in humans start at concentrations lower than hydrogen cyanide’s 50 ppm and are similar to those of chlorine significant irritation of the eyes and respiratory system as well as liver and kidney damage occur above 25 ppm, which is the immediately dangerous to life and health value for fluorine.[258] The eyes and nose are seriously damaged at 100 ppm,[258] and inhalation of 1,000 ppm fluorine will cause death in minutes, compared to 270 ppm for hydrogen cyanide.
The site is within one mile of Central Elementary School, Sunrise Elementary School, St. Mary’s, Lafayette Middle School, and West Albany High School. Do we want to poison our children?
why?? why must it be in town? why? how about out south pacific, or our prized container yard that will never pay off. its cheaper and faster to load and unload containers on z trains in portland. someone shoulda thought about that before spending money on that container yard
The city is impulsive in all matters concerning what affects us. It takes huge risks with our health and safety on a regular basis. City water stinks, city roads are damaged and we are barely able to survive financially due to the quality of jobs they will let start up here. Pawn and smoke shops they allow but not food carts etc.? Why don’t they build affordable housing there to give a larger amount of people a place to live and allow good businesses here so they have healthy jobs that pay a living wage? The city wastes its time and money on issues like parking problems, causing grief over little plots of land and drawn out solutions to all of it. If the city started focusing on positive changes to the city instead these types of proposals we would be better off. Easy “fixes” never pan out. It takes work to get positive results. You don’t have to fix it if it ain’t broken!
Why is no one asking this question that in the event of an earthquake could any part of this facility become compromised with uncontrolled releases from any of the dangerous chemicals they would be working with.
I live in this neighborhood in the event our neighborhood residence could recover following an earthquake would the proposed chemical plant affect the probability for us to survive and thrive. I believe the answer is no this is not the right location for such a plant as I also consider that during the winter heavy winds come from the south which could even carry contaminant toward downtown. I think it would be better built far away from any residents Creeks streams or Rivers even more so a residential area including schools and apartment complexs so should not even be considered for such a plant location. I think when companies accept a responsibility to work with such materials that are highly reactive it should be part of the expected cost by providing a shuttle bus for their employees and as a result of the greater safety zone will even protect the company from some unanticipated consequences and lawsuits and so many more people would be more likely protected when the employees and their families sleep play and spend time further away from the work that takes place at these plants. And on one other question what is the detoxification process if one of these delivery trucks gets in an accident so let’s get the delivery vehicles further out of our communities as well. As for the comment of wetlands I think putting a plant in the center of a closed off isolated wetland could actually be a win-win for the environment and the neighborhoods the employees would come from so these plants don’t want to have lost revenue from accidents and the general public doesn’t need to be wandering around outside of them.