Ag Parks, ethanol plants and CAFO’s, oh my
Residents in Delaware County are organizing to resist a move by the president of the county council, Joe Russell, to create an “Ag park” near Shideler, Indiana. The proposal, that would impact land owned by Russell, would clear the way for the installation of a new soy biodiesel plant, although the change in zoning to an Ag park would also permit the installation of a CAFO.
This has residents upset, including Ball State University chemistry professor James Rybarczyk:
An ethanol plant is a “chemical refinery,” Rybarczyk said during the meeting organized by citizens. “Mr. Russell, have you ever worked in a chemical plant? Have you ever seen a refinery explode?” Angry residents who live near the proposed ag park pointed fingers and shouted at Russell at the meeting. The professor called soy biodiesel and ethanol plants “hard-core industry that belongs in an industrial park, not out here” in farm fields.
Back in Blackford County, the Dutch couple seeking to install a 2,000 cow CAFO gain approval of their permit to operate the farm from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, but the earlier decision of the local BZA will still keep them from openning. This article pints out that if Blackford County had not acted to amend the local zoning ordinances to require specific approval (based on control of noise, odor and air pollution) by the BZA, the state permit would have been enough to get the farmers a building permit for the CAFO.
Speaking of the governor’s plan to populate the rural areas of the state with industrial farming operations, Marty, over at the bigeastern notes a plan with a different focus: preserving endangered species of wildlife in Indiana: Indiana Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy.
August 26th, 2005 16:08
I would like to try and clarify “near” Shideler–they are proposing the land directly to the north, east, and south of the residents. Several of the houses would have the ag park directly to the north and south. Oh, but there is a 200 foot buffer area required in the ordinance from residential structures. The western border of the town is Ind. 3, which is also the border of the proposed zoning change.
September 9th, 2005 14:14
I would urge all who think that an ethanol plant is a good idea to more fully examine the experience of St. Paul, Minnesota, as it dealth with Gopher State Ethanol, a plant that residents were told would smell like “baking bread.”
It was a long, sad, four-year nightmare for anyone living within 4 miles of the place.
February 28th, 2007 18:16
[...] zoning rule changes are being fought not only in Illinois, but also Minnesota and Indiana. Iowa, apparently, already allows fuel ethanol under its ag business (A-2) zoning designation, which [...]