A6
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Biomass processor prevails in fire insurance dispute
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
WALLOWA, Ore. — A
federal judge has ruled that an
Oregon woody biomass pro-
cessor is entitled to insurance
compensation for business
income lost due to a fire.
In 2019, a fire caused exten-
sive damage to buildings and
machinery owned by Inte-
grated Biomass Resources, a
company in Wallowa, Ore.,
that makes heat logs, camp-
fire wood, poles and electricity
from forest project byproducts.
The biomass company filed
a lawsuit against the Dela-
ware-based AIX Insurance Co.
for refusing to pay for income
lost due to suspended busi-
ness operations in the fire’s
aftermath.
The complaint sought at
least $670,000 in damages
for the insurance company’s
alleged breach of contract.
AIX claimed the damaged
equipment was covered under
a portion of the insurance pol-
icy that did not provide com-
pensation for lost business
income, but a federal magis-
trate judge disagreed with that
interpretation of the contract
earlier this year.
Capital Press
A portion of the Integrated Biomass operation in Wallowa, Ore. It is now owned by Heartwood Biomass LLC.
“The court finds no ambi-
guity in the terms of the policy
— business income coverage
is provided for losses to those
buildings, which includes per-
manently installed machin-
ery and equipment, and to per-
sonal property located within
100 feet of the buildings,” said
U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia
Sullivan.
The insurance company
objected to the magistrate
judge’s findings and recom-
mendations, arguing it had
already paid for destroyed
property under the policy but
that its coverage didn’t extend
to lost business income from
damaged “out in the open”
machinery.
U.S. District Judge Michael
Mosman has now rejected the
insurance company’s objec-
tions, ruling that he agrees
with the magistrate judge’s
“well-reasoned opinion” and
adopts it as his own.
Though Integrated Biomass
Resources has prevailed in the
dispute over insurance cover-
age, the ruling does not decide
the amount of damages owed
to the company.
Integrated
Biomass
Resources was started in 2009
with the goal of processing
small-diameter logs after larger
timber became unavailable in
the region due to stricter envi-
ronmental regulations.
The company largely relies
on woody biomass from wild-
fire mitigation and forest health
projects on federal lands in
Northeast Oregon. Last year, it
was bought for an undisclosed
sum by Heartwood Biomass
LLC.
Treasure Valley Reload Center groundbreaking set
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
NYSSA, Ore.— Construc-
tion of a rail reload center that
will benefit the area’s onion
shippers will get underway
next month near Nyssa, Ore.
The state-funded Treasure
Valley Reload Center will
move onions and other com-
modities from trucks to rail-
cars for shipment east.
Greg Smith, of the Mal-
heur County Development
Corp., said he and the board
in mid-September signed a
20-year operator lease with
Americold Logistics LLC.
The board also finalized
an industrial track agreement
with Union Pacific Railroad.
In it, Union Pacific agrees to
service a rail spur and provide
construction and long-term
maintenance of the rail cross-
ing on Gem Avenue.
The board advised Steve
Lindley Contracting, of Union,
Ore., to start site work follow-
ing a groundbreaking cere-
mony at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 1 at
the site, east of Highway 201.
Lindley in late August was
selected from among four bid-
ders. The company’s base bid
was $5.2 million. Its “addi-
tive-alternative” bid was $3.4
million.
Smith said the first amount
covers immediate needs; the
second covers future work that
will be approved and funded
as demand warrants.
Both bids were below engi-
neers’ estimates.
Earlier, the 14 area compa-
nies that are part of the Trea-
sure Valley Onion Shippers
LLC reached an agreement
with Americold on volumes
and costs.
Smith said rail, shipper
and lease agreements “had to
be completed sequentially in
order to make it work.”
Excavation “will be the
first of four segments of devel-
opment, with the goal to be
ready to ship onions by the
end of next summer,” he said.
Other construction steps
include laying gravel and
aggregate, installing water
and wastewater systems, plac-
ing rock ballasts to support
track and trains, and prepar-
ing the building site and com-
pleting the approximately
60,000-square-foot structure.
“In year one, we anticipate
more than 900 railcar move-
ments out of the Reload Cen-
ter,” Smith said. About 4.3
truckloads of onions fit into a
railcar.
For the project, the 2017
Legislature approved a $26
million Connect Oregon grant
from the state lottery. The Ore-
gon Transportation Commis-
sion early this year approved
it and started releasing funds.
Smith said the 2021 Leg-
islature approved an addi-
tional $3 million for a water
line from Nyssa to the build-
ing. The line will go through
the industrial park, which will
also benefit.
The cost estimates include
about $10 million to $12 mil-
lion for rail spur development,
$6 million to $8 million for the
building, $6 million for exca-
vation and $1.5 million to $2
million for professional ser-
vices including design and
permitting.
The lease calls for Ameri-
Courtesy of Anderson Perry/Capital Press
An artist’s rendering of the Treasure Valley Reload Center, which
will be built near Nyssa, Ore.
cold to pay Malheur County
Development Corp. $2,500
a month and take ownership
after 20 years. The county
can charge additional fees if
needed to cover costs such as
depreciation or maintenance.
Meanwhile, Americold is
upgrading one facility each
in the Midwest, on the East
Coast and in the South to han-
dle onions and store them. He
said these investments, to cost
around the same as the Reload
Center building, mean new
markets can open where trains
may not stop otherwise.
Southeastern Oregon and
southwestern Idaho produce
more than one-third of the
country’s fall-winter storage
onion crop.
MT. VERNON
PRESBYTERIAN
Community Church
SUNDAY SERVICE..............9 am
SUNDAY SERVICE ...........9 am
541-932-4800
EVERYONE WELCOME
Assembly
of God
896 E. Main 330 W. Front St.
John Day
Prairie City
Sunday Services
9:30 am
11am
Prairie Baptist
Church
238 N. McHaley
Prairie City
Sunday
Service
10:30am
St. Thomas
Episcopal
Church
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live Sunday 10am
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Redeemer
Lutheran Church
Come Worship with us at
Grace Chapel (EMC )
154 E. Williams St.
Prairie City, Oregon
541 820-4437
2 Corinthians 5:17
Every Sunday in the L.C.
Community Center
Pastor Robert Perkins
Contact Pastor Ed Studtmann at
541-421-3888 • Begins at 4:00pm
Sunday School (all ages)
9:30-10:30
Sunday Worship
10:45-12:00
John Day Valley
Mennonite
Church
Meeting every Sunday
at Mt. Vernon Grange Hall
Sunday School ...............................9:30 a.m.
Sunday Morning Worship ............10:50 a.m.
Pastor Leland Smucker
Everyone Welcome • 541-932-2861
(Corner of Second & Allen)
JOHN DAY
UNITED
METHODIST
CHURCH
Sunday Worship • 9AM
(541) 575-1326
johndayUMC@gmail.com
126 NW Canton, John Day
Food Pantry Friday 3-4PM
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Broadcasting
Tune into KSPL 98.1 FM
For more information,
call 541 620-0340
CHURCH OF THE
NAZARENE
Sunday School .......................... 9:30 am
Sunday Worship Service......... 10:45 am
Sunday Evening Service ...........6:00 pm
Children & Teen Activities
SMALL GROUPS CALL FOR MORE INFO
627 SE Hillcrest, John Day
59357 Hwy 26 Mt. Vernon
1 st Sunday Worship/Communion ..................10am
3 rd Sunday Worship/Communion/Potluck ...4:30pm
2 nd , 4 th & 5 th Sunday Worship .........................10am
Sunday Bible Study .....................................8:45am
Celebration of Worship
For information: 541-575-2348
Midweek Service
FIRST CHRISTIAN
CHURCH
Sunday School ..................... 9:45 am
Sunday Worship ...................... 11 am
Fox Community Church ............. 3 pm
Sunday Evening Bible Talk ......... 6 pm
Saturday Men’s Study ............... 6 pm
Weekdays: Sonshine Christian School
Full Gospel- Come Grow With Us
Pastor Randy Johnson
521 E. Main • John Day • 541-575-1895
www.johndaynazarene.com
541-575-1202 Church
311 NE Dayton St, John Day
Pastor Al Altnow
Sundays 5:30pm
Youth: 0-6th Grade
Thursdays 6:30pm
Youth: 0-6th Grade
Jr./Sr. High
Youth Connection
Wednesdays at 6:30pm
Overcomer’s Outreach
Mondays at 6pm at
LWCC
A Christ-Centered, 12-Step
Recovery Support Group
Pastor Sharon Miller
541-932-4910
www.livingwordcc.com
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