A new chemical processing plant is slated for operation in one of Peoria's historically environmentally disadvantaged communities.
Cooperation between city staff, the Peoria City/County Joint Commission on Racial Justice and Equity (RJE) and community organizations led to an agreement with BioUrja and the Viridis Chemical Company that multiple parties involved call a “win” for everyone.
Why Peoria as a new home for Viridis Chemical Company?
In early December, the Peoria City Council approved a rezoning request and special use permit application allowing Viridis Chemical to build a plant next to the existing BioUrja facility along the Illinois River.
Viridis, founded in 2020 and based in the town of Columbus, Nebraska, produces ethyl acetate.
“You, or some of your listeners, might have a bottle of this under their sink in their bathroom as nail polish remover,” said Patrick Killian, CEO of Viridis. “So this is a water based solvent that’s used in water based inks and coatings and paints, adhesives, also nail polish, nail polish remover and some other, let’s say, cosmetic applications as well.”
Ethyl acetate is a colorless chemical with a fruity odor. It is flammable, which led to some community concern during hearings on the project with the planning and zoning commission.
Killian says Viridis is notable in the field as a “process technology developer,” coming up with new ways to make existing products, rather than creating new products themselves. Viridis makes ethyl acetate with ethanol, rather than the industry standard fossil fuels.

Ethanol is the key to Viridis’ process and the foundation of their connection to Peoria’s BioUrja.
“BioUrja was providing us [ethanol] in Nebraska by rail car, which is doable, but can be expensive,” said Killian. “And then the discussion became, well, what about this plant?”
At the same time, the creation of the Distillery TIF district in Peoria opened the door to further industrial development on the south side.
The current plant is relocating, piece by piece, Killian says that’s highly uncommon.
“The plant was originally built in modules and moved to Nebraska and put together,” he said. “It’s not Legos, it’s still a big deal, but that makes it capable to be relocated with the right people, the right expertise and the right diligence to do it safely and successfully.”
Killian says there will be some new construction, particularly on wiring, utilities, foundation work and office spaces.
Months of negotiations clear the way for council approval
As a relatively young company, Killian says the negotiation process is the first one the organization has gone through.
“We’re moving to where the corn is and that’s just the fabric of Peoria, right?” he said. “So I think it’s a story that makes sense to people, but also it’s intriguing and interesting. And so far all those groups have had, you know, great questions, have been supportive.”
Those groups include the Environmental Justice Subcommittee of the RJE, City of Peoria staff and south side community organizations like Southside Community United for Change, Tri-County Urban League and Southside Mission.
City Manager Patrick Urich says looping the RJE Commission into the process is a consideration that originates back with the creation of the Distillery TIF.
“The last component we built into the TIF plan was some language that said that the city staff would evaluate the proposed projects on how they protect the community from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects in order to be able to address that going forward,” said Urich.
Urich says the city worked with the RJE Commission to determine the details of this component and start solidifying the process by which any proposed project could be evaluated.
The area BioUrja and the future plant reside in has historically been a recipient of disproportionate environmental impacts. According to data from the U.S. EPA, the 61602 zip code ranks above the 95th percentile in areas like wastewater discharge, particulate matter and toxic releases to air.
“This is a portion of our community that has a large minority population,” said former RJE steering committee chair Tim Bertschy. “So the background of [the negotiations] comes on top of our initial determination that this was a community that we had to watch very carefully in terms of environmental issues.”
Urich says the city started talking to the RJE Commission as the application process for the Viridis relocation progressed. The commission’s Environmental Justice Subcommittee prepared a list of special conditions, which eventually became the seven point document included in the packet approved by the city council.
“We really worked out, I think, some special conditions that everyone can live with,” said Urich. “And I think that was really a positive thing.”
Special considerations address accountability and jobs
RJE Environmental Justice Subcommittee Co-Chair Nick Firmand says the six person group approached the negotiations looking to maximize the positives and minimize the negatives of a new industrial project. The process included first bringing community organizations to the table to evaluate their needs. It also meant looking at BioUrja and Viridis’ environmental track records.
Firmand describes Viridis’ environmental efforts as doing a “really great job.”
“But, you know, there’s air pollution considerations, water pollution considerations, and so, we wanted to make sure that both companies stay in compliance with the applicable policies,” he said.
Four of the special considerations address these concerns. One requires up to date water pollution permits, another calls for swift remediation of any failures to comply with pollution statutes and the last two outline a process for annual reports on EPA compliance and greenhouse gas emissions from BioUrja and Viridis. Those reports are to be submitted to the city and made available to the public.
Urich says this reporting model is new for the city. Virdis and BioUrja will be the first two Peoria manufacturing companies to follow it.
“In many ways, we’re required to track and report this thing anyway,” said Viridis CEO Patrick Killian. “So this is not, it’s, I’ll just say that doesn’t change the manner of care and concern and responsibility that we take for our plant, for the safety of the people who work there, our neighbors and the environment around us.”

As for the people who will work at the plant, two special considerations call for Viridis to prioritize employment opportunities for south side residents and create a “recruitment pipeline” for the plant. Killian says the company is in very early talks with the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council to create a training course at an area college.
“With any industrial activity coming into the city, there are going to be costs and also benefits,” said Cecilia Elhaddad, co-chair of the RJE Environmental Justice Subcommittee. “So we wanted to make sure that as much as the South Side is affected by any pollution that may occur from this new Viridis plant, that they’re also able to access the economic opportunities that it brings.”
Killian estimates there will be somewhere between 20 and 25 jobs brought to Peoria by the plant’s relocation. He says about 15 of those will be “operator” positions, while the rest will be “chemists.”
Killian describes the ideal operator as organized, possessing leadership abilities and “chemistry friendly.”
“It’s not a sort of manual labor job, chemical manufacturing,” Killian said. “It’s a continuous process. The product is all contained in equipment. So the staff, which is about four people on a shift, they really are managing the whole thing.”
Firmand and Elhaddad acknowledge, as in any negotiation process, there were concessions from both sides. But both speak about the experience positively and agree that the subcommittee’s “core points” come through in the final list.
Preparing for Peoria’s industrial future
Though Peoria is a very different landscape than Colombus, Killian says Virids is prepared for a new operating environment. The plant, he points out, was designed just a few years ago.

“So it has the best available, you know, emissions technology and reliability technology along the way of every step in the process,” Killian said. “So it worked there and it will work here as best in class as far as the manufacturing capability, safety and emissions control.”
The process of moving the plant to Peoria starts later this year, with construction finished in late 2025 and the facility fully operational and shipping product in early 2026.
“What’s important to me is that this is a great success of the RJE committee,” said City Manager Patrick Urich. “Of them leaning in as citizens of this city and this county and helping to shape a better outcome for the city in this regard and really focused on equity. I was really pleased to see the end result we got.”
The RJE Committee was founded just four years ago. Bertschy, Elhaddad, and Firmand see the entire process as a good proof of concept.
“I think that we’re all really excited about what we’ve been able to accomplish,” said Elhaddad. “And we’re really hopeful about how this process can be used as a template for the future, for the evaluation of future industrial activity in the area.”