World’s 1st carbon-free fertilizer plant seeks $20M property tax break from Richland
The Richland City Council will consider waiving nearly $20 million in property taxes over 10 years to woo a $1.1 billion green fertilizer plant to town.
The city council will consider a tax break submitted by Atlas Agro when it meets at 6 p.m., Tuesday, March 5, at city hall, 625 Swift Blvd.
The matter is on the council’s “Items of Business” agenda, with a presentation by the city’s economic development manager followed by a possible discussion by the council members.
The council previously waived a combined $9 million in property taxes for ATI Specialty Alloys and Components and for French nuclear fuels manufacturer Framatome. Those requests were handled in the city’s consent agenda without public comment.
Public comment is accepted at the start of the meeting.
Tripling down
If the council signs off on the Atlas Agro request, it will triple the amount of local property taxes waived by the city, bringing the total to date to nearly $30 million.
Benton County previously waived its share of property taxes for ATI and Framatome about a week after the city acted.
The county has not yet scheduled Atlas Agro on any upcoming agendas.
The tax waiver request was signed by Dan Holmes, Atlas Agro’s local executive, who keeps an office at The Parkway.
Targeted urban areas
Richland is the first city in Washington to take advantage of the state’s new “targeted urban area” tool.
The TUA program lets cities and counties waive their share of property tax bills to growing businesses that meet certain employment and wage targets.
Waivers do not affect other taxing entities, such as school districts.
The city is betting that waiving millions of dollars in property taxes will pay off by positioning Richland as a leading center for clean energy manufacturing in the Pacific Northwest.
It anticipates that the added jobs and economic activity will compensate for the lost tax revenue. Property taxes support general government services such as law enforcement, first responders, parks, planning and more.
Site purchase delayed
Atlas Agro’s project, called the Pacific Green Fertilizer Plant, is by far the largest to seek a tax break.
Exactly one year ago, Atlas Agro agreed to purchase 150 acres at 1500 Horn Rapids Road from the Port of Benton.
The deal was scheduled to close by this month, but the port recently agreed to extend the deadline a year to give the company additional time to conduct due diligence.
The deal is now expected to close by late 2024 or early 2025, according to port officials.
While the company’s commitment to Richland appears firm, the city may have a rival suitor.
Karl Dye, president of the Tri-City Industrial Council, told the port’s elected commissioners that the local community risks losing it to an unspecified Oregon site if it doesn’t stand behind Atlas Agro.
If built, the green fertilizer plant would employ 158 once operational and would exceed the state’s definition of a living wage.
The project still must clean numerous hurdles. Most importantly, it told the city it could need up to 350 megawatts of power to fuel its process to convert air and water into green fertilizer for agriculture, or enough electricity to power the city three times over.
The city previously granted ATI a $2.6 million waiver in exchange for a $111 million expansion of its titanium melting plant in north Richland.
Framatome received about $6.7 million in tax waivers for a $360 million plant it is considering building at its campus on Horn Rapids Road.
For city agendas, go to richlandwa.portal.civicclerk.com.
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