Planned e-commerce facility could impact 9 acres of wetlands

The site of a planned e-commerce shipping warehouse near the Eugene Airport includes wetlands, and developers could be paying up to $900,000 to help enhance other wetlands within the local Amazon Creek watershed.

The shipping warehouse is rumored to be an Amazon facility, as it shares similar blueprint structures and developers with previous Amazon projects nationwide.

The developers plan to participate in a Wetland Mitigation Banking Program, a credit program that’s been active in Eugene for decades.

Whenever developers choose to build on vital wetland ecosystems, they must pay a lump sum to purchase a “wetland credit” to offset the environmental damage. The funds from the credit are used to restore and maintain other wetlands nearby. 

In this case, with the facility expected to affect 8.99 acres of wetlands, developers are projected to pay about $900,000 for wetland credits. The funds will go toward preservation of a wetland in the same Amazon Creek watershed. 

Paul Gordon, natural systems specialist for the city of Eugene, says the money goes a long way. It often allows agencies to preserve and improve three times as much wetland as the developers buying the credit will affect.

“We all know wetlands need protection, and we also need development to occur,” Gordon said, “and so, what do you do with that? You come up with a plan that protects wetlands and also allows for development, and that’s basically kind of what we got here.”

As a part of the wetland credit evaluation, the project site, zoned for industrial uses, was graded on its wetland quality. After examining factors such as biodiversity, and given its previous use as farmland, the wetland scored relatively low in ecological importance.

The land itself also sits on the Clear Lake Overlay zone, an area of development that the city has designated as an industrial development area. It’s sectioned away from neighborhoods, and the overlay was labeled as an effort to balance both environmental justice and economic prosperity concerns.  

Lisa Arkin, previous executive director of local environmental justice group Beyond Toxics, agrees with certain aspects of the e-commerce project, such as the location of the development itself, which is farther away from local neighborhoods and still economically benefits the community. 

However, she emphasizes that these zoning considerations and the wetland mitigation programs are the bare minimum for protecting local neighborhoods, and the city still needs to keep a watchful eye on the development for pollution concerns. 

“This overlay zone is putting an obligation on the city and whatever businesses are approved for out there to be particularly mindful of the value of the environmental features on the site,” Arkin said. 

Arkin also described still-present concerns regarding the facility’s potential air pollution. With 2,592 daily vehicle trips projected to move in and out of the facility, the building requires an “indirect-source” pollution permit from the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency. The permit has become a subject of community discussion, with over 300 public comments submitted on the proposed pollution permit.

Details from the wetland credit permit show that seven other parcels were also considered for the project, all toward the edges of the city of Eugene. All were rejected by developers due to size limitations. There were also efforts to wrap the building around the wetland areas. However, due to the space needed for large trucks and parking, engineers deemed that impossible.

The permit application remains in review, and its deadline for a decision from the state Department of Lands has been extended to Aug. 27.

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