(Spirit Lake)– Plans to build a 50 million gallon ethanol plant just west of Superior cleared another major hurdle today (Monday). The Dickinson County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the board of supervisors rezone land for the proposed plant from Agricultural to Heavy Industrial. The supervisors will consider the recommendation at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The P & Z’s vote followed a public hearing that drew concern from neighboring landowners concerned over things such as impact on groundwater supplies, drainage, noise, traffic, odor and so on. Project developer Brian Petersen disspelled the concerns, saying the project will be tightly regulated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. He added that provisions will be made for on-site drainage, and said high-tech equipment will be installed to deal with odor.
Even if the supervisors approve the rezoning recommendation, the project still faces several other hurdles before it can become a reality. The county’s Board of Adjustment needs to approve a variance and conditional use permit. They’ll take it up at their meeting scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Monday, January 23rd at the Dickinson County Community Building in Spirit Lake.
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