Bucyrus Telegraph Forum
06-12-07
Biofuel: Benefits, problems
Staff and wire reports
Gannett News Service
DES MOINES, Iowa -- The buzz about biofuels centers on a huge environmental
perk: During its production and use in vehicles, corn-based ethanol burns cleaner
than gasoline, emitting 20 percent less of the heat-trapping gases that contribute
to global warming.
Ethanol made from corncobs and switchgrass would cut the load by 90 percent.
But along with the benefits, the biofuel boom has brought environmental
problems -- and the total impact isn't known, a Des Moines Register analysis
shows.
The issue is alive in Crawford County where Jefferson Township resident John
Slabach is worried about the affects of a proposed ethanol plant near his home in
Crestline.
"This plant will be 400 feet from my front door," Slabach said. "We have
researched
and learned about the types of pollution these plants can cause and are
concerned about the odor. We are opposed to the project."
The proposed project by The Andersons of Maumee, is awaiting the issuance of
draft versions of three permits for the plant they want to construct on Ohio 598
near Crestline Road.
"They are expecting the draft versions of the permits any day now. The permits
include a NPDES permit, which deals with discharge from the plant, a wetlands
permit and an air emissions permit," Crestline Safety-Service Director Gene Toy
said. "After they receive the draft versions, there will then be a 45-day waiting
period in which area residents can file comments and questions with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"After that time period, there will then by a public hearing. At that point, if
everything is approved, The Andersons can then move forward with construction
of the plant. It's a very lengthy process."
Iowa's ramped-up ethanol and biodiesel fuel production led to 394 instances
during the past six years in which the plants fouled the air, water or land or
violated regulations meant to protect the health of Iowans and their environment.
It is the breadth of the offenses, rather than the number, that surprises Barbara
Lynch, who supervises the state's environmental inspectors.
"It's very significant," Lynch said. "We anticipated some issues, but we were
disappointed there were so many issues.
"One of the things about ethanol and the biofuels is they impact every arena: air,
water, drinking water, construction wastes. It seems like they cut across every
program we have."
In addition, many biologists consider the industry's most prevalent environmental
issue the water pollution and soil erosion that will accompany the increased corn
production needed to meet ethanol's soaring demand.
Regulators and scientists say that as biofuel production grows, more focus is
needed on the impact on natural resources.
"The implications of this industry in Iowa are huge," said Rick Cruse, director of
the Iowa Water Center at Iowa State University. "If it isn't done right, it could
be devastating to some resources."
The Register's analysis of state inspections shows the range of challenges the
industry faces. The numbers listed here count each offense only once. Because
federal regulations consider each day that a violation occurs as a separate
offense, the actual number of violations could have been higher.
The biggest problem at the plants is meeting sewage pollution limits and
preventing wastes from spilling into waterways. There were 276 violations in that
category, involving 11 plants, one-third of all Iowa's plants in operation during the
analysis and covered in the documents. Much of the sewage trouble came from
too much iron in water withdrawn from local aquifers.
In 17 cases at 10 plants, the facilities either didn't apply for a permit before
building or operating regulated equipment; or failed to build the plant as outlined
in the permit; or failed to apply for the stricter permits needed for larger emitters
of pollution.
Lynch said the early trouble with permits was a serious matter. "People say, 'So
they didn't get a permit, big deal.' It's not about a piece of paper, it's about
managing environmental impacts."
Inspectors at the DNR, who are largely responsible for monitoring biofuels plants'
compliance with state and federal laws, say plant officials are getting better at
following environmental laws and obtaining the proper permits.
"If you look at the effect on the environment overall, we have a very good
record," said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels
Association. "We take it seriously. ... We want to be friendly to the environment."
With the industry booming, regulators and scientists agree it's hard to project the
full impact of the stepped-up biofuels production.
Gannett News Service and T-F reporter Kimberly Gasuras contributed to this
report.
A look at some of the environmental effects from biofuel facilities:
Water
A single plant producing 100 million gallons of ethanol a year -- a capacity quickly
becoming the norm -- uses as much water as a town of approximately 10,000
people, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports.
That's 400 million gallons of water a year for one plant -- and scientists aren't
sure
See LOOK /page 2A
the state has enough water to handle the ethanol boom and other expanding
industries.
Power plants, the state's largest water users, consume far more than ethanol
plants. But while power plants return water to streams and rivers, ethanol plants
are a different story. They recycle some water, but export much of it in steam.
Greg Krissek, director of governmental affairs for Kansas-based ICM, an
engineering firm that has worked on many Iowa plants, said the industry has
become more efficient in its water use.
Producing a gallon of ethanol took six gallons in 1998, compared with six to 11
gallons for gasoline. Water use dropped to three to four gallons per gallon of
ethanol produced by last year, and is expected to drop below three gallons this
year, Krissek said.
Water quality
Ethanol production requires purified water. When plants treat the water, their
sewage discharges can include toxic salt levels and high iron levels. That kind of
pollution can harm fish and cattle that drink from streams.
According to the Iowa Environmental Council, the concentrations of chloride and
other suspended solids, mainly salts, coming from ethanol plants are among the
highest of any industry in the state.
Trucking the wastes away from a plant to a waste treatment facility means added
vehicle emissions, offsetting some of the environmental benefits of the biodiesel
manufactured at the plant.
Ethanol plants are also driving Iowa farmers to plant more corn and seek higher
yields. More acres of corn will mean more fertilizer applications.
Biologists say the loss of grasslands and woods would mean less filtering of
fertilizer runoff as it heads to water supplies. Those factors lead to more nitrates
in waterways. Nitrates are a colorless, odorless compound that forms when
fertilizers break down. Nitrates also come from animal manure.
In untreated water, nitrates have been associated with "blue-baby syndrome" -in which a baby's blood is stripped of its ability to carry oxygen -- and a variety of
cancers.
Erosion
Plowing trees and native grasses on land held in conservation to plant more corn
will reverse decades of work to prevent crop-related pollution, scientists say.
State researchers suggest that Iowa farmers will put 500,000 acres now in the
Conservation Reserve Program back into production, as a result of the demand
for corn-based ethanol and rising corn prices. Iowa has 2 million acres currently
enrolled.
From 1985 to 1993, the CRP program was credited with saving 694 million tons
of soil per year nationwide.
Additionally, ethanol producers' move toward making more cellulosic ethanol
from cornstalks won't necessarily benefit the environment. Cornstalks help
replenish the soil and sweep heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the sky, said
Spencer Tomb, a biology professor at Kansas State University.
On the other hand, the switch to cellulosic, done right, could be a boon to wildlife
and to water quality, various scientists have reported. Growing switchgrass or
other alternative crops to make ethanol could cut soil erosion. In addition, the
year-round ground cover would reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Air
Air pollution from the plants can irritate lungs and contribute to smog that
threatens people's health. Some chemicals released by ethanol plants are
classified as cancer-causing compounds.
The infractions are perhaps the most surprising in biofuels plants' environmental
performance, said Wayne Gieselman, Iowa's environmental-protection chief.
That's because as the industry grew in Iowa, no one expected the levels of
cancer-causing chemicals emitted by both combustion and the production
processes at the plants.
Peter Weyer of the University of Iowa Center for the Health Effects of
Environmental Contamination said the air risks are typically an acute, short-term
issue. Often, the emissions would affect only those who are particularly sensitive,
like those with asthma or other lung ailments.
Air emissions "caught us off guard," said Monte Shaw, executive director of the
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. But plants moved quickly to add pollutioncontrol equipment, at a cost of $2 million per plant, he said.
Brian Hutchins of Iowa's air-quality bureau said many biofuels plants are nearing
the point where they would require more pollution-control equipment and
techniques, and more elaborate permit requirements. The higher-emitting
facilities pay more in fees, too.Text goes here.