Councillors fast track ethanol plant

02/02/2003

$70-million facility dears planning hurdle despite key questions

BY MICHAEL-ALLAN MARION
Brantford / EXPOSITOR STAFF

Brantford City councillors enthusiastically supported a proposed $70-million ethanol plant Monday that could be Ontario's largest such facility.

Ten of council's 11 members liked the prospect of winning the plant so much they took the unprecedented step as a planning committee of backing an official plan amendment to re-zone the land for the new industry be-fore the necessary permits and approvals have been issued by various regulatory bodies.

Instead, those regulatory clearances are listed as conditions for approval of the plan amendment.

The plant is also unusual in that its water and wastewater needs won't be on city services where they would be subject to greater-controls. Instead, the plan will take water from an aquifer and treat waste water through a septic system.

Only Coun. Marguerite Ceschi-Smith opposed endorsing the amendment immediately. She tried to have the application deferred but couldn't find a seconder.

Councillors did approve one addition after considerable debate: that an opinion be sought from the Grand River Conservation Authority.

The proposed plant, the brainchild of the farmer-led Integrated Grain Processors Co-operative, would be built on 47 acres of 307 acres by Oak Park Road on the city-county boundary. Backers want to start construction in March 2004.

"I support an ethanol plant but I'm not sure this is the place for it," said Ceschi-Smith. "I'm surprised we're doing it this way. Why is there such a rush? Studies still have to be done."

She argued significant questions about the plant's use of one of the area's aquifers still need to be discussed, considering the plant will use 1,500 liters of water per day.

"We don't know enough," she said.

Under questions from councillors, Commissioner Peter Atcheson acknowledged that the ethanol plant represents the first time the city has approved an amendment for an industrial operation not using city services, before approvals are in place.

But Coun. John Sless said: “Certainly don't want to risk a $70-million investment when there are still lots of approvals to go through yet.”

Coun. Larry Kings also highly favored the proposal. He didn't see any point in seeking an opinion from the GRCA.

WATER ISSUES

I think what they're trying to do is a bit of overkill," he said of those who tacked on the opinion as a condition.

But Coun. Richard Carpenter said he was concerned about the Ministry of the Environment being the only reporting agency on water concerns about the project.

"Having the MOE as the only protector of the aquifer is a frightening thought," he said.

The ministry is generally viewed unfavorably in many quarters of council, and has been the subject of criticism and resolutions in the past few years. In a presentation, the co-op's agents told councillors the plant will be built in a mined-out quarry.

It will use 15 million bushels of corn per year and that it hopes to acquire 15 to 20 per cent of the corn in a 50-kilometre radius of the plant.

Once built, the facility will hire 35 to 40 workers.

Mike Bryan of Colorado-based BBI International, which specializes in ethanol plants and Helmut Pankratz of the engineering firm Weslake Inc. said there is a growing market for ethanol as an additive in gasoline.

Bryan noted that Sunoco imports about 150 million liters of ethanol per year and the new plant would produce 115 million liters per year.

But the bulk of questions from councillors dealt with the aquifer.

Pankratz said the plant will take water from a lower lying deep aquifer rather than a shallower one closer to the surface. He said the deeper aquifer is thought to be at no risk of being depleted.

"There is a level of comfort here that what we're doing is very viable and sustainable," he said.

Ethanol plants emit an odour equivalent to cooking corn and some plant operators have faced complaints from neighbors.

But the co-op plans to install a thermal oxidizer that will burn off the odour agents and also be hot enough to heat the plant's boiler.

The co-op is not required by law to install the oxidizer, but Bryan said it wants to be a good neighbor.

When Coun. Greg Martin noted that a plant in Chatham has received odour complaints from neighbors, Bryan said that facility lacks the oxidizer and is in the process of having one in-stalled.

The site of the proposed plant is also the subject of tense negotiations between the city and Brant County about boundary changes concerning possibly up to seven parcels of land a various points along the boundary.

The city proposes to swap the area of the ethanol plant, on the west side of Highway 2, for an equivalent parcel of land in the county on the east side of the highway.

That would put the ethanol plant in the county.

Mayor Chris Friel has assured the co-op that the city will help it with regulatory hurdles even though the plant may end up in the county because he considers such a large facility to be an economic boon to the area.