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 pollution-control 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.