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GRAND FORKS – A tax incentive application for a company that uses robotic arms to clean inside railway tank cars will have a public hearing for the county on March 3.
Grand Forks County commissioners approved setting the date for the hearing on Tuesday during their commission meeting. The incentive would be a new and expanding business tax incentive that would proceed on a five-year, declining schedule, starting with a 100% incentive and ending at a 20% incentive.
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Twin State Environmental LLC, based out of Iowa, plans to lease five acres of land from Northern Plains Rail Services to build and develop a rail car cleaning facility north of Grand Forks. The facility would use robotic arms to clean built-up crude oil, asphalt, fats and fertilizers from the inside of tank cars, eliminating the need for people to climb inside them for cleaning, which can be time consuming and a possible hazard.
“You’ve got somebody that goes in with a pressure washer … and spends multiple days inside a rail car trying to get rid of that,” said John Walters, director of Twin State Environmental. The robotic arm, on the other hand, can clean a rail car in approximately three hours.
The project is estimated to cost $3.6 million. The company also operates a cleaning facility in Richardton, North Dakota, which opened in December.
Scott Tinsman, chief technology officer and a founder of the company, said the facility would also benefit Grand Forks, both by helping local railway businesses and by bringing in new business, as most rail cars that would use the facility would be from other states. North Dakota also transports and produces high amounts of crude oil.
“We’re doing a lot of business from out of state,” Tinsman said, “which is bringing in sales tax dollars that the state currently doesn’t have access to.”
The project is certified as a state primary sector business, meaning its services would add value to another product, service or process and create new wealth. Kevin Hatcher, business development manager for the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporation, said the robotic cleaning method can save enough of the leftover oil, which would normally be waste, and send it to be repurposed.
“Rather than having it categorized as waste, it’s being cleaned and reintroduced back into the market,” Hatcher said.
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He added Twin State Environmental also plans to apply for PACE funding through the city of Grand Forks.
Because the tax incentive application is for no more than five years, the other taxing entities in Grand Forks, like the City Council and School Board, do not need to hold hearings on the application.
Commissioner Terry Bjerke asked if there was any way the company could pay extra taxes for five years after the tax incentive ended to try and balance out the cost of the tax savings.
“If it can be recouped at the end, then I think that’s a question, as a representative of the taxpayer, I should ask,” he said.
State’s Attorney Haley Wamstad said her office would have to look into the possibility further.
If the project is able to move forward, Walters and Tinsman said the goal would be to begin operations by Sept. 1.
In other news, the commission:
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