EPA ruling delaying coke plant

BORDER OF TOLEDO and OREGON - Mayors Marge Brown and Carty Finkbeiner said the only thing stopping a coking plant being built on the Oregon-Toledo border is a board ruling by the EPA.

A spokesperson for FDS Coke Plant LLC, the company expected to construct the plant, said if an independent entity does not rule on procedural issues by the end of the month, the deal could be off.

"We're going to die in this area if we don't get jobs and this 2,000 construction jobs," Brown said Tuesday. "It's time to look for our fellow human beings to get a job."

Funding for proposed $800 million coking plant is not an issue.

Environmental and community groups have objected to the plant, but have not yet responded to the company's confidentiality agreement. Without it, they can't see the contracts. Both mayors insist the plant is environmentally safe.

FDS said the company would have to spend extra money if nothing happens by the end of the month, but investors could walk away from the deal that has been on the drawing table for the past five years.

If created, the coking plant would crate 2,000 construction jobs and an additional 200 permanent positions if the plant opens.