Ethanol plant gets green light again (06/20/06)

With one of the major questions answered, a controversial project moved forward.

After hearing how a proposed ethanol plant southwest of Portland will get the water it needs to operate, members of a local board unanimously voted on second and final reading Monday to grant a re-zoning request for the plant.

There are only two major hurdles left for the company to clear: Permits from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for air and water discharge; and approval of the final detailed plan by the Portland Planning Commission.

Two members of the Portland City Council who voted on first reading against the request to re-zone approximately 180 acres to planned unit development-industrial from agricultural changed their votes Monday night after hearing officials with Broin and Associates say the Premier Ethanol LLC plant plans to get most of its water from a nearby stone quarry.

Council members Dolphus Stephens and Jim Sanders voted against the re-zoning request at the June 5 council meeting because Broin officials had not decided how the plant would acquire the nearly 600,000 gallons of water it would require daily.

“Last time the big holdout for me was the water,” Stephens said Monday night. “I feel like they have the problem solved. I think this is a good project.”

Michael Roth, director of engineering for Broin, read from a prepared statement Monday which says that the plant will receive its water from Meshberger Brothers Stone Corporation, wells in the area and the city of Portland. At the previous council meeting and a Portland Planning Commission meeting, several residents who live near the plant site said they were concerned that the high volume of water required by the plant could drain their wells.

Roth said an agreement has been reached with Meshberger for the plant to use water from the quarry. The quarry would be the primary supplier of the water for the plant, he said. The water will be filtered before it is used.

How much water would be drawn from wells and the city would depend on the season and outdoor temperatures. The plant would use cooling towers which need more water in the summer than the winter because the heat causes the water to evaporate, Roth said. The water would be taken from Meshberger first, then the wells, then city lines.

After Roth read Broin’s statement, several audience members in the half-full room asked questions about safety at the plant.

Fred Franklin, who said he lives near the plant site, asked how far the plant would be from where Meshberger does its blasting. Franklin said he was concerned the alcohol at the plant would be too close to explosives.

Roth said the explosives are being taken into account in the site planning process. He did not elaborate further.

Phillip Ostrowski, rural Portland, asked what kind of fire protection the plant would have.

Roth said the plant would have wet and dry protection. After the meeting, he said this means there would be a sprinkler system in place for both small and large fires.

Local chiropractor Dr. James Clear, who lives on county road 100 South, asked what the emergency evacuation procedure would be for Jay County High School and the area near plant site, which is located along the southeast side of Ind. 67.

Bob Sours, Portland police chief, said there currently is an evacuation plan set up for firearms emergencies. The plan would need to be updated for an ethanol plant, he said.

Clear also asked if the plant would be included in a tax increment financing (TIF) district.

Bob Quadrozzi, executive director of Jay County Development Corporation, said, “There have been discussions of forming a TIF for the infrastructure” of the plant. If such a district is formed, it would be a county TIF district, he said.

At least two audience members complained about the proposed ethanol plant.

June Domingo, who lives just outside of Portland, said she feels the city council doesn’t care about those who live in the two-mile area outside the city limits. She pointed out that those residents can not vote in city elections.

If council members were to vote in favor of the re-zoning request “you would be using your power” to bring harmful chemicals to the area, Domingo, the mother-in-law to Mark Clear, said Monday.

After Bruce Hosier, mayor of Portland, said the question and answer session would end, Chad LeMaster, who also lives near the plant site, said angrily, “You tell me I don’t have the right to speak?”

Another audience member spoke, then LeMaster was given the opportunity to ask his question. LeMaster asked who would reimburse him for his lost property value due to the ethanol plant.

Hosier said several people have asked the same question, and it would not be the city.

Several homes along Ind. 67 and county roads near the plant site have been put up for sale since the first time the council voted on the re-zoning request. Most are marked with a for sale by owner sign, although several, including Clear’s home, have been listed with a real estate agency.

In other business Monday, council members approved a policy for use of city credit cards.

Hosier said the city has been using credit cards for travel expenses, but guidelines for their use have never been established.

The policy says the mayor and clerk-treasurer are authorized to obtain a credit card in the name of the city. If any city employee wishes to use the card, permission must be obtained from the mayor or clerk-treasurer. Any transactions must have receipts, which then have to be turned in to the clerk-treasurer.

Also Monday, Hosier announced that an item from the meeting’s agenda had been removed.

The agenda listed a request for approval for an economic development income tax loan for Community Home Improvement. This item was scheduled to go to Portland’s EDIT Advisory Committee just before the council meeting, but that meeting was canceled. Hosier said the item wasn’t ready to be presented to the EDIT committee.[[In-content Ad]]