By SHEILA RHOADES, Wabash Plain Dealer
It's nearly official ... Broin Companies will build the county's second ethanol plant south of North Manchester.
Michael Roth, director of site development for the project, was introduced to Wabash County Council by Bill Konyha, president and CEO of the Economic Development Group of Wabash County (EDG), when the Council met on Monday, March 26, for its monthly meeting.
In a brief presentation, Roth confirmed that N. Manchester Ethanol, LLC will be located just east of Ind. 13 about three miles south of North Manchester, between County Roads 800N and 850N. Approximately 200 acres on either side of the railroad track will be purchased for the 60-million-gallon-per-year facility.
"The state air permit is being submitted this week and we are already in talks with the (town of North Manchester) regarding utilities and water lines possibly running to the site," Roth said. "We've talked about adding sanitary lines so neighbors can hook up to it, too."
He added that there were a couple of issues that must be cleared before the project received the green light: the issue of rezoning and the approval of a TIF (tax incremental financing). TIF is a tool used to capture new property taxes for a time and fund new public projects, such as sewer, water and streets. It creates a method of funding for those projects which might otherwise be unaffordable to the area. The amount of time the TIF is offered could range between 12 and 15 years, for example.
According to Konyha, Wabash County has never used TIF, but will likely approve it for both of the county's ethanol facility projects, which could be a positive situation for both communities.
Roth said he has been involved with 15 of Broin's recent ethanol plants.
Broin Companies has more than 20 years in the ethanol industry and is currently second largest in (dry mill) production only to Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).
Broin markets more than one billion gallons of ethanol each year. Only seven billion gallons are produced annually in the U.S.
Roth said the project will likely begin before this winter. Production is expected to begin within 12 months of the onset of construction.