Sparta ethanol plant decision delayed; complaints in Milton

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

From an article by Steve Cahalan in the La Crosse Tribune:

SPARTA, Wis. — The Sparta City Planning Commission on Monday night postponed for 30 days a recommendation on rezoning land to allow construction of a controversial ethanol plant.

The 4-2 vote to delay recommending whether to rezone the site from agriculture to manufacturing means the Sparta City Council will not be able to vote on rezoning tonight.

The commission’s decision came after a heated, two-hour public hearing attended both by supporters of Coulee Area Renewable Energy LLC and opponents of the plant’s proposed location near the main facility for Century Foods International in Sparta.

Century Foods officials argue emissions from the ethanol plant will contaminate its milk-based products and endanger employees’ jobs.

The farmers and other investors in CARE dispute those contentions.

And an article by Carla McCann in the Janesville Gazette covers complaints about a Milton plant:

MILTON-Four months after going online, the United Ethanol plant is causing talk around town.

A neighbor of the $60 million plant in Milton's Eastside Industrial Park complained to Mayor Nate Bruce that the family's pool and patio furniture are being polluted with ash fallout from the plant.

Other city and community residents, including the mayor, have smelled the yeasty odor of the plant's operation drifting across the city.