Staff writer

OAKLAND CITY-Three Pike County residents who oppose the construction of a combined ethanol/power plant about a mile west of the Gibson-Pike County Line - and about 2.5 miles from Oakland City - told the city council Tuesday they believe the facility has the potential to bring a host of negative effects to this area.

Dave and Dee Laswell, and Nat Beck, who all live within a mile and a half of the proposed plant site, attended the council meeting and said once the facility is in operation it could create dangerous and unwanted consequences for all residents in the adjacent area.

Dave Laswell said residents who oppose the plan have had a difficult time trying to get information about what to expect from the plant from the company proposing its construction - The Ripatti Group, based in Reno, Nev. - besides the fact that it will produce 50 million gallons of ethanol once in operation.

The Ripatti Group announced March 22 that it had chosen a 200-acre site 3 miles west of Arthur for the power plant and 50-million-gallon ethanol fuel facility. The site of the proposed plant would be the former Columbia Coal mine property.

Heat and electricity from the power generator will be sold to the ethanol facility, and the balance of the output will be sold to the electricity grid through a power purchase agreement with a utility, said company president and spokesman Matti Ripatti.

The $200 million project could generate more than 100 full-time jobs in the county, Ripatti said. The ethanol facility would process more than 20 million bushels of corn a year. The biomass power plant would use 200,000 tons of renewable energy fuels such as corn stover and wood chips/sawdust per year.

But with information available from other ethanol plants in operation, Laswell said it is very likely that the facility will release toxins into the air, create a bad odor that will permeate the area and bring the potential of accidents that could force the evacuation of a 2.5 to 5 mile perimeter surrounding the plant - which would likely include Oakland City.

&#8220This has the potential to be a very dangerous facility and the bad odor would be constant," he said. &#8220And that's just the ethanol plant."

With a power plant that would be fueled by organic material, including wood chips, sawdust and other waste, the amount of toxins that could be released into the air would be considerable, Laswell said.

&#8220This is not an appropriate spot for this plant. It may well hurt Oakland City as much anyone in this area," he said.

Beck said a waste-burning power plant could release toxins such as carbon monoxide and other dangerous compounds into the air.

&#8220There are many compounds that could be released that we don't know what effects they'll have," he said. &#8220The (Environmental Protection Agency) has tested ethanol plants and found most released higher rates of pollutants than they originally promised. But all they do is get fined and continue operating ... They almost have an open permit to do what they want."

Laswell said other negative effects that the plant could bring include increased traffic on local roads, with as many as 200 additional trucks transporting materials to and from the plant through local communities. The three concerned residents also noted there are no specific plans to explain where the 3.5-6 gallons of water needed to process just one gallon of ethanol will come from. And not least of all, Dee Laswell added that wildlife in the adjacent Patoka National Wildlife Refuge could be negatively impacted, as well.

The background of the Ripatti Group is also a concern, Laswell said, as it is not clear whether the company has ever built an ethanol plant before.

According to the company The Ripatti Group is also developing renewable energy projects in Alaska and Nevada and the company's financial partner has arranged funding for more than 70 power and ethanol projects in 21 states and four international locations.

According to the company Web site www.ripattigroup.com, Ripatti, of Janesville, Calif., has been in the alternative energy business since 1983, developing three geothermal electricity generating power plants in northern California.

But Laswell said despite repeated efforts, he has not received more specific information about the company.

&#8220They're gonna say they'll bring in the best and the newest technology," he said. &#8220But we don't want to be a Guinea pig."

The company is in the process of obtaining permits to start construction and has already started surveys of the Pike County site, Laswell said.

Although many Pike County officials have likewise not been able to provide solid information to concerned residents, they have come out in favor of the plant, Laswell said. But, he added some who have seen more information about its possible effects are beginning to raise questions. He encouraged Mayor Hugh Wirth and the city council to consider the information given to them and try to get answers from company, state and federal officials.

&#8220I don't know if we can stop this or not, but we want to make everyone aware of what could happen," Laswell said. &#8220We need to make people aware so they know for sure if this is something they want to get into."

Wirth said city officials, like other residents, were not initially aware of the possible effects pointed out to them at Tuesday's meeting and would try to get as much information about the project as they could. The mayor said he is in the process of contacting the Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management about the possible effects of the plant and will also try speak to U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth, State Sen. Lindel Hume and county officials, in an effort to try to gauge opinion on the issue.

&#8220We'll try to get a handle on this and continue to try to get information," he said. &#8220Many people heard jobs and everyone wants jobs, but we need to be sure of what else this could bring."