Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Ralph Pribble, 651-296-7792 St. Paul, Minn. -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has completed an Environmental Assessment Worksheet for the proposed MinnErgy ethanol facility at Eyota, Minn. The agency invites the public to comment on the EAW through July 2, 2008. MinnErgy LLC is proposing to build a natural gas-fired corn ethanol production facility at Eyota, in Olmsted County. The facility would be built in two phases. Phase I would produce up to 52.25 million gallons per year of fuel-grade ethanol and 153,533 tons per year of distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Phase II would raise production up to 75 million gallons per year of ethanol and 220,382 tons of DDGS. The facility would use up to 564 gallons per minute of ground water in Phase I, and up to 791 gallons per minute during Phase II. The facility would discharge non-process utility wastewater to Bear Creek. The MPCA also expects to place the facility's draft wastewater permit (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/State Disposal System) and draft air emission permit on public notice shortly after notice of the EAW. The draft permits would also be open for public comments for 30 days after their public notice. A public informational meeting will be held on June 19, 2008, at 7:00 p.m., at the Dover-Eyota High School. MPCA staff will also be available for one hour before the meeting to answer questions in an open-house format in the school commons area. The purpose of the open-house and public information meeting is to answer questions and accept written comments related to the EAW as well as the draft NPDES/SDS and air permits. The EAW is a review of how a proposed project could potentially affect the environment. The EAW also helps the MPCA determine if an Environmental Impact Statement, a more in-depth environmental review, is needed. The EAW must be completed before the MPCA can issue final permits for the project. The MPCA may make changes to the draft permits based on input received during the EAW public comment period and/or on new information gathered as part of the agency's own review of the project. Written comments on the MinnErgy ethanol project EAW must be received by 4:30 p.m. July 2, 2008. Comments should be sent to Steve Sommer, MPCA, 520 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4194. Copies of the EAW are available for review on the Web at www.pca.state.mn.us/news/eaw/index.html, as well as the following locations:

• MPCA Rochester office, 18 Wood Lake Drive SE
• MPCA St. Paul office, 520 Lafayette Road North

To request a copy of the EAW, contact Steve Sommer at the MPCA, 651-282-5851 or steve.sommer@pca.state.mn.us. Additional information on the environmental review process is available on the Web at www.pca.state.mn.us/news/eaw/index.html.