Local planners voted Tuesday to allow a heavy industrial zone for a new biodiesel plant, despite several objections from neighbors and one threat of a lawsuit.
The 6-2 vote by the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission clears one hurdle for the Renewable Energy Group, an Iowa company that wants to build a biodiesel plant east of Norfolk Iron and Metal. The rezoning to I-2 must still be approved by the Emporia City Commission.
Normally, an I-2 zone would permit a wide range of high-impact businesses, such as a slaughterhouse or an iron foundry. But in Tuesday’s vote, the planners specified that the heavy industrial zoning could only be used for a biodiesel plant owned by REG. Otherwise, the area reverts to light industrial.
The vote also requires the company to put up at least a 10-foot berm with mature trees on it, to shield the property from nearby homes.
“Based upon the discussions we had at the Flint Hills Technical College meeting, we knew there were some concerns by the residents, and we appreciate their concern,” said Scott Wernimont, REG’s business development manager. “It’s always a balancing act.”
The 41.5 acre site on the southwest corner of South Avenue and Road M5 is part of Industrial Park III but is located near a residential zone. That was enough for both Gilbert Stefan and Kenton Thomas to vote against the measure. Stefan said an I-2 zone simply did not belong there.
“As a commissioner, I feel I have a responsibility to protect that residential area sitting out there,” Stefan said. “I am not against biodiesel. By no means. I think it’s great. The question is not whether it’s good or bad. This is a zoning issue to me. This is the board I sit on. And that’s my take on it.”
“Much as I hate to oppose it, from a planning perspective ... I have to come down with Gilbert,” Thomas said.
The plant would use soybean oil from the Bunge North America plant in Emporia to make biodiesel fuel. REG spokeswoman Alicia Clancy said there would be no similarity to a “renewable diesel” plant in Carthage, Mo. that has had repeated odor problems.
Renewable diesel, Clancy said, is produced in petroleum refineries by breaking down animal waste products into a light crude oil through a process called thermal depolymerization — a process similar to the geologic forces that created fossil fuels.
Biodiesel plants, she said, use a chemical process called transesterification to create a 100 percent renewable fuel. One hundred pounds of soybean oil, Clancy said, will ultimately yield 100 pounds of fuel. And because it’s a “closed-loop” process, she said, the plant should have no noticeable odor.
“It’s a good product,” said Joyce French of S and S Oil and Propane Co., who both sells REG’s fuel and has a trucking company that has often traveled to REG’s plants.
“I visited with one of my drivers that had been to one of their plants,” French said. “It was clean. There was no odor.”
Other supporters noted the 30 jobs that the plant would bring to Emporia. Wernimont said after the meeting that the company preferred to hire locally for sites like Emporia, since it can be difficult to recruit workers to a smaller city.
“We’ve just lost a company from our community that employed 33 people,”said Betty Senn of the Emporia Workforce Center, referring to the upcoming closing of the Lenze plant. “This company is offering to bring in 30 jobs to replace that. This is a company that chose our community, that wants to be here and that I believe plans to be a good neighbor.”
The existing neighbors still had a number of other concerns about the plant, though, including flooding, light pollution, safety and the effect on local property values. Several said that this was the right project in the wrong area.
Keith Thomas, who owns property in the area, went further. If the city went ahead and rezoned the area, he said, “We will be forced to file litigation for a jury trial in Emporia, Kansas.”
Flooding problems came up frequently in the hearing. Ditches in the area fill up quickly when it rains, neighbors said, often leaving a lot of standing water across roads or in fields. Would more concrete parking lots and roadways make it worse?
“There’s bound to be problems with water runoff out there,” neighbor Daryl Klumpe said.
Wernimont said that REG would have to manage its water discharge -- federal and state rules require it. He could understand the worries, he said, but the company would not aggravate the situation.
“We are not adding water to the process,” he said. “We can’t make more rain fall.”
Another resident was worried about safety. Bob McKinney, who lives on Road M5, pointed out a news item about an explosion at an Idaho plant. A 25-year-old man who had been welding a tank of biodiesel fuel died.
“Some of my concerns would be that this may be located too close to a residential area,” he said.
Clancy and Wernimont said that REG’s plants take careful safety precautions, such as “nitrogen blanketing” areas to prevent volatile reactions and supplementing the fire system with a 200,000 gallon water tank for emergencies. There is also a leak-detection system that automatically shuts the plant down if a leak occurs.
Workers also receive safety training to prevent accidents like the one in Idaho, Clancy said.
“We talk with them about the importance of emptying vessels and making sure the vessels are empty before they start work,” Clancy said.
Janet Haag, who lives in the area, said the whole subject needed more study and that she especially wanted to see an emergency response plan.
“I-2 near a residential neighborhood is just plain wrong,” she said. “I don’t believe there’s enough information.”
Planning commissioner Pete Euler, who voted for the measure, said many of the issues would still be there even if the site stayed light industrial and drew a business of that nature.
“In every kind of industry, there are probably chemicals and processes that could have an impact,” he said. “You’d like to believe all of them won’t, but I don’t know that that’s realistic. So you hope for a company that’s experienced in the process and has systems in place.”
The Emporia City Commission is scheduled to consider the rezoning at its 7 p.m. May 16 meeting at the commission chambers, 518 Mechanic St.
rcr (anonymous) says...
Great news. A new plant that produces hazardous materials. Based next to an established neighborhood. No Emergency plan.
No concrete evidence of it's effluent release potential and how many of the Planning Commission have concrete ties to the Chamber?>
Word around town was that this was a done deal before the hearing. Time to ask for more credibility in this process. If I was Thomas, my attorney would key in on the irresponsible treatment of the abovew questions and look at E--MAIL between Planning Commission to discover Ex-parte communications
April 25, 2007 at 11:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
vankamp (anonymous) says...
I a very disappointed in the zoning board. It seems like they were only looking at the 30 jobs, not what they were supposed to do...zoning requirements. I wonder if any of these members would like to live next to the proposed sight? Kudo's to the two that did their job. I think the Biodiesel plant is a great opportunity for Emporia...but on an already zoned I2 sight not, across the street from residences. I hope the City Commission does the correct thing for Emporia and votes it down, but I really don't have much faith in them.
April 25, 2007 at 1:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )