Full Version: Proposed Ethanol Plant
I understand a company wants to put an ethanol production plant nearby in PA but lots of citizens are up-in-arms about it. I'm curious as to why. Is this just another case of NIMBY-ism or are there good, legitimate reasons why this plant should not be built? Isn't it proposed for an industrial park? Wouldn't it help the local economy and create jobs and help farmers get better prices for their corn?
Here's a PO article on it.
It seems that if you're not in the distribution industry and aren't planning to add a hundred more trucks daily to I-81 then Chambersburg isn't interested. Before I bought the building we have in Shippensburg I briefly looked into building one in Chambersburg and was told that in order to get a permit the building would have to be designed so that it could be converted to a distribution warehouse if the business didn't survive.
I've heard the smell can be pretty bad and there are several nice developments near the location they're considering (Majestic Ridge golf community for one). Chambersburg needs some jobs though. They lost a lot in the clothing manufacturing industry in the last 7 or 8 years.
Of course I don't live there so my vote doesn't count.
I'm not sure my vote counts anyway.
QUOTE
Ethanol plant critics question future of Letterkenny
By JIM HOOK
Senior writer
ADVERTISEMENT
Citizens opposing a proposed ethanol plant north of Chambersburg are asking if the siting of the plant might imperil the future of Letterkenny Army Depot.
Penn-Mar Ethanol LLC on Tuesday purchased 55 acres in the Cumberland Valley Business Park, next door to the 17,000-acre maintenance depot, one of the two largest employers in Franklin County.
Fearing odor and environmental problems, several citizens on Monday had asked Letterkenny Industrial Development Authority not to sell the land to Penn-Mar.
Paul Ambrose, a former Greene Township supervisor opposed to the ethanol plant, suggested that LIDA might be shooting itself in the foot.
"Other military bases that are in competition for the work that Letterkenny does, must be gleeful over the possibility of the ethanol plant locating so close to the base," Ambrose said.
The chairman of Opportunity '05, a local group committed to preserving Letterkenny, disagreed with Ambrose.
"The Army is aware of what we are doing and has not raised an issue," said L. Michael Ross, who is also a LIDA member and president of Franklin County Area Development Corp. "It wouldn't infringe on current or projected missions."
The Pentagon wants to close 25% of its installations in the 2005 round of base closings.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is to present his list to the base closure commission by May 16.
Letterkenny lost jobs and missions in the previous 1995 round.
The community has been working to strengthen Letterkenny — to market the installation as a unique place in the Northeast where the military can expand its presence without bothering the neighbors. LIDA has offered the Army real estate for expansion, and a study indicates that surrounding land uses are compatible with the military.
The ethanol plant would store flammable liquids — 75,000 gallons of gasoline and as much as 1.8 million gallons of ethanol, according to initial plans by Penn-Mar Ethanol LLC. And in a worst-case scenario — if the plant suffered a major leak of the 8,000 pounds of ammonia that is to be stored there, an area 2 1/2 miles around the plant would be evacuated and people as far as five miles from the plant would be advised to stay indoors.
Penn-Mar submitted the information about the dangerous liquids last year as part of its request for a conditional use permit from Conoy Township in Lancaster County. The company chose in February to move the project to Franklin County.
More than 60 facilities in Franklin County have plans for alerting or evacuating neighbors in the event of a leak or spill, but fewer than 10 have evacuation radii of a mile or more, according to Gary Himes, hazardous materials coordinator for Franklin County.
A serious accident at the ethanol plant requiring an evacuation would interfere with Letterkenny's mission to repair missiles and vehicles, according to Ambrose. Letterkenny's "military value" would decrease.
Military value is ranked high among Base Realignment and Closure Commission criteria for keeping bases open.
Ambrose said the location of the ethanol plant also runs counter to Pennsylvania's goal for its military installations "to be the best possible host" for the military. The plant also would appear as a negative in impact studies.
Opportunity '05 contracted for a land use study indicating that Letterkenny had plenty of room to grow in an area where it was welcome. The group has been working too hard to retain the Army to risk a project that might discourage its continued presence at Letterkenny, Ross said.
"We're not trying to do this in a vacuum," Ross said. "We're trying to put this in the context we're trying to develop an entire park."
And Letterkenny, which never comments on base closure issues, had little to say about the ethanol plant.
"The depot reserves comment on the plant," Letterkenny spokesman Allan Loessy said, "and we are confident that the local and state agencies involved in the review will carefully consider all relevant evidence throughout the approval process."
——————————
Jim Hook can be reached at 262-4759, or jhook@pubop.com.
By JIM HOOK
Senior writer
ADVERTISEMENT
Citizens opposing a proposed ethanol plant north of Chambersburg are asking if the siting of the plant might imperil the future of Letterkenny Army Depot.
Penn-Mar Ethanol LLC on Tuesday purchased 55 acres in the Cumberland Valley Business Park, next door to the 17,000-acre maintenance depot, one of the two largest employers in Franklin County.
Fearing odor and environmental problems, several citizens on Monday had asked Letterkenny Industrial Development Authority not to sell the land to Penn-Mar.
Paul Ambrose, a former Greene Township supervisor opposed to the ethanol plant, suggested that LIDA might be shooting itself in the foot.
"Other military bases that are in competition for the work that Letterkenny does, must be gleeful over the possibility of the ethanol plant locating so close to the base," Ambrose said.
The chairman of Opportunity '05, a local group committed to preserving Letterkenny, disagreed with Ambrose.
"The Army is aware of what we are doing and has not raised an issue," said L. Michael Ross, who is also a LIDA member and president of Franklin County Area Development Corp. "It wouldn't infringe on current or projected missions."
The Pentagon wants to close 25% of its installations in the 2005 round of base closings.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is to present his list to the base closure commission by May 16.
Letterkenny lost jobs and missions in the previous 1995 round.
The community has been working to strengthen Letterkenny — to market the installation as a unique place in the Northeast where the military can expand its presence without bothering the neighbors. LIDA has offered the Army real estate for expansion, and a study indicates that surrounding land uses are compatible with the military.
The ethanol plant would store flammable liquids — 75,000 gallons of gasoline and as much as 1.8 million gallons of ethanol, according to initial plans by Penn-Mar Ethanol LLC. And in a worst-case scenario — if the plant suffered a major leak of the 8,000 pounds of ammonia that is to be stored there, an area 2 1/2 miles around the plant would be evacuated and people as far as five miles from the plant would be advised to stay indoors.
Penn-Mar submitted the information about the dangerous liquids last year as part of its request for a conditional use permit from Conoy Township in Lancaster County. The company chose in February to move the project to Franklin County.
More than 60 facilities in Franklin County have plans for alerting or evacuating neighbors in the event of a leak or spill, but fewer than 10 have evacuation radii of a mile or more, according to Gary Himes, hazardous materials coordinator for Franklin County.
A serious accident at the ethanol plant requiring an evacuation would interfere with Letterkenny's mission to repair missiles and vehicles, according to Ambrose. Letterkenny's "military value" would decrease.
Military value is ranked high among Base Realignment and Closure Commission criteria for keeping bases open.
Ambrose said the location of the ethanol plant also runs counter to Pennsylvania's goal for its military installations "to be the best possible host" for the military. The plant also would appear as a negative in impact studies.
Opportunity '05 contracted for a land use study indicating that Letterkenny had plenty of room to grow in an area where it was welcome. The group has been working too hard to retain the Army to risk a project that might discourage its continued presence at Letterkenny, Ross said.
"We're not trying to do this in a vacuum," Ross said. "We're trying to put this in the context we're trying to develop an entire park."
And Letterkenny, which never comments on base closure issues, had little to say about the ethanol plant.
"The depot reserves comment on the plant," Letterkenny spokesman Allan Loessy said, "and we are confident that the local and state agencies involved in the review will carefully consider all relevant evidence throughout the approval process."
——————————
Jim Hook can be reached at 262-4759, or jhook@pubop.com.
It seems that if you're not in the distribution industry and aren't planning to add a hundred more trucks daily to I-81 then Chambersburg isn't interested. Before I bought the building we have in Shippensburg I briefly looked into building one in Chambersburg and was told that in order to get a permit the building would have to be designed so that it could be converted to a distribution warehouse if the business didn't survive.
I've heard the smell can be pretty bad and there are several nice developments near the location they're considering (Majestic Ridge golf community for one). Chambersburg needs some jobs though. They lost a lot in the clothing manufacturing industry in the last 7 or 8 years.
Of course I don't live there so my vote doesn't count.
I'm not sure my vote counts anyway.
The "against it" folks have a website - www.c4aQe.com. I looked at it, they've got all kinds of stuff on it about how it's so terrible. Things like how if there's a train wreck they will be subjected to toxic materials and might have to be evacuated (they don't seem to remember that many, many trains containing toxic chemicals already go thru Chambersburg and they can wreck just as easily), how it smells bad (if I understood the website correctly, it smells kindof yeasty), and how it will decrease their property values.
I don't live in Chambersburg, but I work at Letterkenny. They store Patriot missiles and other types of missiles (none nuclear) at Letterkenny, and there are 2 EPA Superfund sites at Letterkenny, but now that they want to put something in that might help the local economy, they are fussing. Most of the farmers around here grow their corn for their cows, so it's not likely that it will help the farmers much, but it should help the local economy.
I doubt they have to worry that it will affect Letterkenny's ability to stay open. We just won a contract over there and had to take an "orientation" tour. They are refurbishing Humvees out of Iraq there right now, and Letterkenny is getting the work because they can get it done faster and cheaper than a contractor, so it's not likely that the work will be going away.
Sounds like another case of NIMBY to me!
I don't live in Chambersburg, but I work at Letterkenny. They store Patriot missiles and other types of missiles (none nuclear) at Letterkenny, and there are 2 EPA Superfund sites at Letterkenny, but now that they want to put something in that might help the local economy, they are fussing. Most of the farmers around here grow their corn for their cows, so it's not likely that it will help the farmers much, but it should help the local economy.
I doubt they have to worry that it will affect Letterkenny's ability to stay open. We just won a contract over there and had to take an "orientation" tour. They are refurbishing Humvees out of Iraq there right now, and Letterkenny is getting the work because they can get it done faster and cheaper than a contractor, so it's not likely that the work will be going away.
Sounds like another case of NIMBY to me!
Sounds like classic NIMBY to me.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.