By Samantha Smith

Zoning of property annexed by Buda in April on FM 2770, north of the Hays Youth sports fields, allows for a planned ethanol transfer facility to open later this year. 

The Buda City Council Tuesday voted 6-0 on second reading to zone 151.96 acres as I2-Heavy Industrial.

The subject property, which prior to Tuesday wasn’t zoned, is currently being developed as the Flint Hills Ethanol Distribution Facility and rail spur transfer, according to city documents.

The distribution facility, owned by Flint Hills Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industry, is scheduled to open in December 2016. 

Buda Mayor Todd Ruge said the Flint Hills plant will not be producing any ethanol and would only store it, using the rail line nearby to distribute it across the country. 

Ruge said even though Buda wasn’t consulted by Flint Hills about the construction of the plant as it was in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), he thinks the facility will be a “huge economic engine for Buda.”

According to the Flint Hills Resources website, the ethanol company, based out of Wichita, Kan., has been blending ethanol, a fuel produced by biomass through the fermentation of sugars, starch or cellulose, since the 1990s.

“Buda is an efficient distribution hub to our existing fuel terminals and this centralized location will enable us to meet the ethanol demands of our customers throughout Central and South Texas,” according to the Flint Hills website. 

Construction on the new ethanol plant began in January 2016.  

Ruge said he has toured many different establishments within Buda in order to understand their place in the community. He said he was interested in touring the ethanol plant when it is operational.