Ethanol in the Finger Lakes?

Is it good for the environment? Is it good for the economy? Is it good for the residents of Seneca County? Give us an Environmental Impact Statement, and we'll give you our answer!!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Facts about the proposed ethanol plant

Empire Green Biofuels (EGB), in association with Cilion Inc. of California, proposes to build an ethanol plant and biomass facility, which will produce 50–60 million gallons of highly flammable ethanol per year, in the former army depot in Seneca County.

The lead agency, Seneca County Industrial Development Agency (SCIDA) determined that the plant would have no adverse environmental impacts, allowing the project to proceed without any environmental study. An environmental impact statement (EIS) would have investigated the plant’s effect on water quality, discharges, safety, odors, toxic emissions, traffic and the wildlife habitats.

Did You Know?:

Location: This plant’s location is 1.5 miles from the shores of Seneca Lake and within 2 miles of Romulus schools. Related facilities extend into the lake itself.

Traffic: Over 90+ trucks per day from the south on Rts. 96A, 96 and to the north on Rts. 96A, Rts. 5 & 20, Rt. 14, Rt. 336, and Rt. 414 to the NY State Thruway. Over 24 million bushels of corn will need to be transported to the facility per year, as well as the ethanol product. In addition, large but undisclosed quantities of fuel materials and process chemicals will be transported. Possible transport of ethanol and other hazardous chemicals by railroad will go through Geneva, and along the east and west shores of Seneca Lake.

Wildlife: An impact on the bird and wildlife habitat, including the white deer, has not been investigated and won’t be until the plant is built and operating.

Air: There will be odors from the facility. They have not been defined as to extent, and the system to minimize those odors is not required to be installed. There will also be a significant amount of air pollutants discharged. According to the EPA: Factories that convert corn into the gasoline additive ethanol are releasing carbon monoxide, methanol and carcinogens (formaldehyde and acetic acid) at levels “many times greater” than they promised.

Water: 1.73 million gallons per day pumped directly from Seneca Lake. This doesn't include water usage associated with the biomass plantation acreage.

Industrial Discharges: Into the wetlands, into Kendaia Creek (protected as a Class C Rainbow trout fishery), other nearby streams, and into Seneca Lake. The total water to be discharged daily and impacts on the wetlands, creeks and lake have not been determined.

Chemicals: Undisclosed quantities and types to be transported and stored on site. According to the EPA: fires involving ethanol or ethanol gasoline mixtures pose different hazards than traditional petroleum-based fires. The recent accidents involving an explosion of a tanker train required evacuation of a school and 1,000 residents. Quantities of ammonia and other toxic substances are potentially lethal.

Land: 375 – 4,500 acres rezoned from lands previously dedicated to conservation. The site of the plant has two EPA Superfund designated areas. According to the EPA: The groundwater at the Depot is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the soils are contaminated with heavy metals. The effects of disturbing these soils with excavation and site grading related to the proposed project are not known.

Posted by Finger Lakes Future Alliance

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Sign our Petition for an EIS

October 22, 2007

Our position from the beginning has been that the ethanol plant project in Seneca County needs an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The more we learn about this project, the more we realize just how essential this is.

The Seneca County Industrial Development Agency (SCIDA) sees its main role as promoting industrial development---especially industrial development that benefits members of the SCIDA themselves, their family members, and their friends and business associates. However, when the SCIDA saw to it they they were named "lead agency" under SEQRA, New York's environmental review law, they took on a legal obligation to defend the public by making sure any negative environmental impacts were identified and studied.

They have shown little interest in doing that. Despite overwhelming evidence that there would be huge environmental impacts, they issued a "negative declaration", and refused to require an EIS. In effect, they gave a free pass to a huge project with enormous giveaways of public lands and taxpayer funds. It would destroy a sensitive ecosystem and degrade air and water quality. There is little evidence that this project would benefit the public in any way. But there is overwhelming evidence that there would be serious negative consequences to the public.

But it's not too late.

Under the SEQRA law, the lead agency is not just permitted, but OBLIGATED, to rescind a negative declaration when it becomes clear that the scope of the project has changed, or new information has come to light. Both of those conditions clearly apply. The project as it is now discussed is different in many respects from the preliminary documents presented by the developers, which were used as a basis for the negative declaration. These documents were full of omissions and misrepresentations.

Will the IDA do its duty and rescind the negative declaration, and now require an EIS?

Maybe---but only if we hold their feet to the fire, and hold our public officials accountable.

That's where the petitions come in. Let it be known that we demand that the IDA do its duty and RESCIND THE NEGDEC!! We need an EIS for this project!

SIGN OUR PETITION:

There are two ways to express your support for Finger Lakes Future, and demand that the IDA do the right thing and REQUIRE AN EIS :

1) Click here to sign our petition on the Care2 website.

or

2) Email us at fingerlakesfuture@gmail.com and we'll add your name to our petition. Or, if you prefer, we'll send you a pdf of our petition, suitable for gathering written signatures.