Former biodiesel execs who left a mess behind under scrutiny for new oil refinery project

In Washington state, three former executives of TransMessis Columbia Plateau that was shutdown in June 2014 after only producing biodiesel from canola a few months are now getting flack from environmental groups as they seek to develop a $1.25 billion oil refinery in Longview. The company spent several hundred thousand dollars to renovate facility after it was abandoned by its former owner at the former owner of the facility in Odessa but when crushing became uneconomical, the Environmental Protection Agency says the company left behind more than a half million dollar clean up including a 15,000 gallon methanol tank; a 7,000 gallon glycerin tank; several leaking tanks and totes; unsecured/open chemical containers; and incompatible chemicals stored next to one another along with about $1.5 million in debt, back rent and state taxes.