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Gopher State EthanolThis Web page provides information regarding the Gopher State Ethanol facility located on West Seventh Street in St. Paul. The information here focuses on permitting and the consent decree for this facility. Health risk information can be found on the Minnesota Department of Health's Web site. Consent decreeThe consent decree among Gopher State Ethanol, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has been finalized and entered as an order of the United States District Court (District of Minnesota). The consent decree responds to comments received during the public comment period by concerned parties. The consent decree is an enforceable document at this time. The MPCA will hold a public meeting at Monroe Community School on Tuesday evening, December 2, 2003, to answer questions and provide information about the consent decree. Here is a copy of the consent decree: The consent decree requires the installation or upgrade of control equipment. The following upgrades and installations have been completed. A bag house (collects dust with bags made of fabric, such as polyester or cotton) has recently been added to the cooling cyclone to further improve capture of dust particles. Also, a second scrubber has been installed to further reduce air emissions from the fermentation scrubber. The fermentation scrubber uses a liquid scrubbing solution to collect some of the gases produced from the fermentation of corn into alcohol. Gopher State Ethanol must still complete emission controls for transfer of ethanol from the facility to tanker vehicles. The company must also complete analysis of cooling cyclone emissions. A cooling cyclone separates corn mash from the air and is also used to cool the mash. The MPCA will hold a public meeting on Tuesday evening, December 2, 2003, at Monroe Community School in St. Paul to answer questions about changes to the consent decree and update environmental issues at the facility. This meeting will also include a brief discussion of additional air toxics investigation at the facility. Gopher State Ethanol must comply with all requirements of the legally-binding consent decree, which will remain in effect even after the Title V permit may be reissued. Title V PermitMPCA staff are beginning review of the permit application for Gopher State Ethanol's Title V permit. The MPCA will hold a public meeting on Tuesday evening, December 2, 2003, at Monroe Community School in St. Paul to get comments from interested individuals before putting this draft permit on public notice. Until a new permit can be issued, Gopher State Ethanol must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of the existing permit where it is not superseded by the consent decree.
Permit historyThe initial permit for Gopher State Ethanol was issued on April 15, 1998. Plant operations started on or about April 24, 2000. The first odor complaints were received shortly thereafter (May and June 2000). The first amendment to the permit was issued on March 15, 2000. The amendment authorized routing of ethanol fermentation emissions through a scrubber. This scrubber was replaced with a larger scrubber in July 2000. The feed dryer was first tested on October 12, 2000. The test results indicated noncompliance for visible emissions and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The next amendment issued on February 21, 2001, authorized installation of a thermal oxidizer to reduce emissions from the dryer. This thermal oxidizer was started on June 21, 2001, and tested on August 21, 2001. Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) issuesLike most industries, the ethanol industry relies on emissions data published by the EPA. Testing of the dryer at the Gopher State Ethanol facility in October 2000 provided the first indications that fuel ethanol plants emit more VOC than previously known. This data led to the federal action directed at all the ethanol plants, including all facilities located in Minnesota. It required all ethanol plants to achieve reductions in VOC emissions. With the federal consent decree, Gopher State Ethanol and the other ethanol plants have been required to perform more testing and install additional air pollution control equipment. MonitoringSome air emission tests were conducted in July 2003 to check emission rates. Test results showed that Gopher State Ethanol was in compliance with the consent decree and air permit limits. Monitoring at the facility includes continuous monitoring of the thermal oxidizer (which burns up organic compounds with high temperatures using natural gas) and daily monitoring of other controls. There is also annual testing of the thermal oxidizer in the consent decree. EnforcementMPCA staff have inspected or visited the plant on numerous occasions and completed enforcement actions independent of the EPA. The MPCA negotiated a stipulation agreement (an enforcement document) with Gopher State Ethanol on March 29, 2001. The MPCA continues to receive and review progress reports required by the federal consent decree, to receive and respond to inquiries from residents, and to communicate as needed with the facility. Who to call
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Gopher State Ethanol Consent Decree