By Eldon Pitts, CourierTimes
Henry County's first two proposed ethanol plants passed their initial hurdles toward construction Thursday, despite considerable opposition.
With about 150 people packed into the former Henry circuit courtroom, the Henry County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of a request from Julian Gehman, founder of Blue River Ethanol LLC, to rezone 189 acres of land from agricultural to heavy industrial use. The land is southeast of Mount Summit on Ind. 3 between Roads 300 and 400 North.
The planning commission also recommended approval of a request from Ronald Lowhorn - one of five founders of Twin Creek Ethanol - for the same rezoning of 112 acres of land southwest of Road 600 East and Central Avenue, just north of Ind. 38. The vote on that request was 5-3, however, with commission members Phil Estridge, Bill Griffin and David Jester dissenting.
Both cases still must go to the Henry County Commissioners next week. The commissioners could approve the planning commission's recommendations for approval, reject them or send them back to the planning commission for further consideration. The commissioners meet at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday on the second floor of the Henry County Courthouse.
Conditions for Approval
The planning commission's recommendations for approval for both plants included the condition that if the commissioners approve rezoning, construction must begin within 12 months of that approval or the land will revert back to agricultural use.
The proposal from Blue River Ethanol included a provision to provide a $5 million closure bond to ensure that if the plant is ever abandoned, the land will be returned to its original condition.
Twin Creek Ethanol's proposal did not include such a provision. But the county commissioners could require it.
During his presentation, Gehman tried to address concerns that residents near the Blue River Ethanol site had expressed. Those included possible declining property values, noise, air quality, odor and the potential for fire hazards at the plant.
But the opponents didn't seem convinced by Gehman's comments.
Opponents Speak Out
Kathy Miller, a teacher and mother of three children, was one of many opponents who spoke against the Blue River Ethanol plant Thursday. Miller, who said the plant would be directly behind her home, made an emotional plea to the planning commission to deny Gehman's request. She presented a petition which contained the names of more than 640 area residents who oppose the plant.
Miller was visibly upset by the planning commission's recommendation.
"Obviously they didn't listen to one thing anybody said," Miller said after the meeting. "They had already made up their minds before we came in."
Estridge, who also is president of the county commissioners, said he listened to the concerns of the opponents.
"I appreciate their concerns," Estridge stated. "But my concern is the overall quality of life for the whole county. Our East Central Indiana region has lost over 9,000 jobs in the last couple of years. We've got to do something to help our economy or nobody's property is going to be worth anything."
Blue River Ethanol expects to provide 50-60 jobs, while Twin Creek Ethanol will employ 40-50 people.
Brian Horn, another opponent, said he believed the planning commission's recommendation was contrary to the county's own zoning master plan.
"The county's master plan with their zoning classifications clearly says that one of the goals is to see that the use of land is consistent with land around it," Horn said. "Essentially everything around (the site) is agriculture or rural residential."
The other issue, Horn said, is that one of the responsibilities of the planning commission is to ensure that a project will not have an adverse effect on the value of property throughout the jurisdiction. "And over 600 people feel that it will."
Justifying the Vote
Estridge said he voted against the Twin Creek Ethanol for a couple of reasons.
"The traffic situation out there was my number one concern," Estridge said. "My other concern was the lack of utilities," he said, unlike the Blue River Ethanol site which has easy access to utilities.
Blue River Ethanol has agreed to pay Mount Summit $40,000 a month for seven years to access water.
Betty Gipe, president of the Mount Summit Town Council, said two or three new water wells would be drilled at the plant site.
"That will allow us to sit down and revisit our water rates," Gipe said.
Many Mount Summit residents have complained that the water rates are too high.
Gipe said property tax revenue from Blue River Ethanol would benefit all of Prairie Township and the Blue River Valley schools. "We are very fortunate to have had a suitable site for the project," she added. "It will be a plus for all of us."
Blue River Ethanol also plans to connect to extended sewer lines from New Castle.
Most of those who attended Thursday's meeting left after the planning commission's vote on Blue River Ethanol. That left a sparse crowd to hear Lowhorn explain his Twin Creek Ethanol proposal.
"Basically, we'll do the same thing as every other ethanol plant," Lowhorn said. "Everybody else has said everything about ethanol." He said the water runoff from the property was expected to be the same as it is now.
Brian Coats, executive director and CEO of the New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corp., voiced his support for the ethanol plants.
"We always try to do our homework because we don't want to bring something here that's going to harm anyone," Coats said.
"When a new company, like an ethanol plant comes here, the benefit extends far beyond the 50 or 60 jobs the company directly creates," Coats added. "Those 50 to 60 jobs means a $2 million payroll every year. That's $20,000 in COIT (county option income tax) money for Henry County."
Farmers also will benefit, Coats said. He said Blue River Ethanol expected to use 75 percent of the corn grown in Henry County. "So there will be a local demand for it instead of having to ship it elsewhere."
Just one plant, Coats added, "will increase our assessed value ... and that should lower each and everyone's property taxes in the township that it goes into."