07/23/2006

Ethanol plant is planned in Manistee

TC group looks to build plant employing up to 50

By PATRICK SULLIVAN

psullivan@record-eagle.com

MANISTEE — A Traverse City company wants to build an ethanol plant on the shore of Manistee Lake in Filer Township.

North Star LLC, registered to Traverse City resident Robert Boeve, filed an application with the township on July 17 to build an ethanol plant that would produce 50 million to 60 million gallons of ethanol per year.

The plant would use corn to produce ethanol; it would employ 30 to 50 people and would be located at the old Drop Forge property on Manistee Lake, Filer zoning administrator Lynn Kooyers said.

She said the property currently is zoned lakefront industrial and is owned by Drop Forge Development Corporation.

There will be a public hearing about the proposal at the township hall on Aug. 9 at 6 p.m.

David Rhodea, a township planning commissioner, said he didn't know many details about the proposal, but he said commissioners planned to visit an ethanol plant near Caro to get a better idea of what one might mean for the township.

"The smell is supposed to be like baking bread, so there's no offensive odor or anything like that," he said.

Township supervisor James Espvik said the proposal is in line with the zoning in the area.

Alex Sagady, an East Lansing-based environmental consultant, said an ethanol plant may sound green, but because plants typically use coal or natural gas to produce ethanol, they can cause air pollution.

"They do have the potential to pollute, there's no doubt about it," Sagady said. "The question is how they're going to be treated and how they're going to be regulated."

Meanwhile, the location of a proposed NextGen Energy LLC ethanol plant in northern Michigan remains uncertain.

Rick Johnson, a former state representative from LeRoy who is a partner in NextGen, said the company will make a presentation at a Paradise Township board meeting on Aug. 2 to discus the prospect of locating a plant near Kingsley. He said locations in Manistee and McBain were also being considered.