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Pioneer Press News Section:
This section shows you to many stories in which Gopher State Ethanol is mentioned.
Ethanol plant curbing output
Gopher State Ethanol, the fuel maker once hailed as a savior of jobs and now reviled by many as a stinky nuisance, announced Thursday it is laying off most of its workers.
Ethanol plant misses its deadline
Gopher State Ethanol failed to meet an early May deadline for reducing odor at its West Seventh Street plant, but a judge and city officials agreed Tuesday to give the firm a bit more time to comply.
( BY ROBERT INGRASSIA, Pioneer Press, 05/05/2004 03:01 AM CDT) ETHANOL PLANT WILL GET MORE TESTING BUT THAT WILL DELAY STATE PERMIT REVIEW
Source: ROBERT INGRASSIA, Pioneer Press
Minnesota regulators said Wednesday they have acquiesced to West Seventh Street neighborhood demands and will do some rigorous emissions studies of the Gopher State Ethanol plant. But in a case of "be careful of what you wish for," the new studies will extend the state's review of the St. Paul plant for a new operating permit. During the process, the plant will continue to operate. Some area residents were looking to the permitting process to force Gopher State to either
Published on February 5, 2004, Page B2, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL PLANT FAILS SMELL TEST RESULTS EXPECTED, BUT CITY VOWS TO COMPEL COMPLIANCE
Source: ROBERT INGRASSIA, Pioneer Press
Results from the first batch of official odor tests at Gopher State Ethanol are in and the West Seventh Street plant still stinks way too much. The odor escaping from one part of the plant was nearly 14 times worse than allowed under last fall's court deal between Gopher State and the city of St. Paul. Smelly emissions from other parts of the plant were five to seven times above the limit. In all, tests were conducted on nine emission points. Gopher State came in
Published on January 8, 2004, Page B1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
'URBAN EXPLORERS' RELEASED PENDING ADDITIONAL REVIEW COUNTY ATTORNEY CONSIDERING CHARGES AGAINST 6 MEN
Source: MARA H. GOTTFRIED, Pioneer Press
John Martens spent 48 hours convincing the FBI and police he wasn't a terrorist. Now the 20-year-old "urban explorer" is swearing off the skulking that got him in trouble. Martens, of Oakdale, and five other urban explorers were released from jail Tuesday with no charges filed against the men. St. Paul police arrested them early Sunday near the Gopher State Ethanol plant and, with the nation on high alert for terrorist activities, jailed them in Ramsey County.
Published on December 31, 2003, Page B1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL PLANT FORUM ON TV
Twice this week, St. Paul's community cable system, SPNN, will broadcast its tape of the Dec. 2 public meeting about the controversial West Seventh Street Gopher State Ethanol plant. The tape will air at 7:30 p.m. today and 12:30 p.m. Saturday on municipal cable Channel 19 in St. Paul. The meeting was held by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, which is considering whether to issue permits necessary to continue operations for the plant. The session at
Published on December 15, 2003, Page B1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
FOES RAIL AGAINST GOPHER STATE AT HEARING ETHANOL PLANT SEEKING TO RENEW STATE PERMIT
Source: ROBERT INGRASSIA, Pioneer Press
In early 1998, when state environmental officials invited the public to comment on a proposed ethanol plant at an old brewery in St. Paul, no one showed up. What a difference nearly six years of stinky air makes. About 200 residents of the West Seventh Street area and other neighborhoods packed a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency forum Tuesday night to lodge complaints about odor and toxic emissions from the Gopher State Ethanol plant. Many residents demanded the
Published on December 3, 2003, Page B3, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL PLANT HOPES PROCESS CURBS ODOR WASTE SODA, LIQUOR REPLACE SOME OF OFFENDING CORN
Source: Tim Nelson, Pioneer Press
Gopher State Ethanol's fermentation plant on St. Paul's West Seventh Street is cooking up something besides corn these days. The plant has switched to a new process, using waste soda and liquor to produce ethanol, supplanting some of the corn they used to make the fuel additive in hopes that the mix will curb the odor from the plant. "The thinking is that the smell was coming from the dryer, and if you're not drying as much corn, the total amount of
Published on November 6, 2003, Page B2, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL PLANT BLAST KILLS 1 ANOTHER HURT IN ACCIDENT DURING CONSTRUCTION IN BENSON
Source: MARA H. GOTTFRIED Pioneer Press
BENSON, Minn. -- A tank holding 40,000 gallons of corn mash exploded with a "whoosh and a flash" at the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co. plant Wednesday, killing a welder and injuring a plant worker in the worst accident in the history of Minnesota's ethanol industry. The accident also prompted grave concerns in St. Paul, where Gopher State Ethanol runs the only urban ethanol plant in the nation. The Benson blast "was a massive explosion and it's highly
Published on October 23, 2003, Page A1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ODOR AGENTS
THE OBSCURE SCIENCE OF 'OLFACTOMETRY' WILL BE USED IN AN ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE THE LONG-RUNNING DEBATE OVER THE BAD-SMELLING EMISSIONS OF THE GOPHER STATE ETHANOL PLANT.
Source: ROBERT INGRASSIA Pioneer Press
At first whiff, the latest plan to combat odor at the Gopher State Ethanol plant in the heart of St. Paul seems fairly straightforward: Set limits on odor emissions. Test the air. If the plant still stinks, force the company to make changes. If the changes don't work, threaten fines. But, as weary West Seventh residents who've been living with the stench for more than three years can attest, nothing is simple when it comes to fighting odor at the Gopher State
Published on October 5, 2003, Page B1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
CITY COUNCIL OKS GOPHER STATE DEAL PLANT'S ODOR WILL BE WATCHED FOR REDUCTION
Source: ROBERT INGRASSIA, Pioneer Press
The St. Paul City Council signed off on a negotiated court deal Wednesday that aims to force Gopher State Ethanol to reduce odors at its West Seventh Street plant. Attorneys from the city and the company are scheduled to meet in Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman's court today to finalize the agreement. Council Member Chris Coleman, whose 2nd Ward district includes the plant, said the deal doesn't go far enough. But he urged his colleagues to approve it,
Published on September 25, 2003, Page B2, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
GOPHER STATE DEAL AWAITS OK TODAY BUT COUNCIL ACTION TO COME WITH RELUCTANCE
Source: Robert Ingrassia, Pioneer Press
The St. Paul City Council is poised today to approve -- somewhat reluctantly -- a proposed odor-reduction deal with the operators of the widely reviled Gopher State Ethanol plant. Council Member Chris Coleman, whose ward includes the plant, said he would vote for the agreement because the West Seventh Street neighborhood appears to support it. Several other council members said they intend to follow Coleman's lead. Coleman, though, may be holding his nose when he
Published on September 24, 2003, Page B6, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
NEIGHBORS APPEAR RESIGNED TO ACCEPT ETHANOL PLANT DEAL BUT STENCH MUST GO, THEY SAY AT MEETING
Source: ROBERT INGRASSIA, Pioneer Press
If Tom Hansen had his druthers, the Gopher State Ethanol plant -- and the sour bread odor that drifts from the industrial site into his St. Paul home three blocks away -- would be shut down for good. But like many of his neighbors who attended a West Seventh neighborhood meeting Thursday night, Hansen said he is willing to support a proposed court deal that would allow the plant to remain open as long as it reduces the stench. "What people would like is to have the
Published on September 19, 2003, Page B2, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING
Source: Robert Ingrassia, Pioneer Press
GOPHER STATE ETHANOL Council postpones vote on odor plan The St. Paul City Council agreed Wednesday to delay for a week a decision on whether to approve a tentative settlement in the city's nuisance lawsuit against the Gopher State Ethanol plant. City attorneys, Gopher State and a group of West Seventh Street neighborhood residents negotiated a deal that would force the plant to reduce odors or face fines. The settlement would establish odor standards and a
Published on September 18, 2003, Page B2, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL PLANT, FOES STRIKE DEAL ON SMELLS SIDES HOPE PLAN SUCCEEDS DESPITE ITS AMBIGUITIES
Source: ROBERT INGRASSIA and TIM NELSON Pioneer Press
Gopher State Ethanol would reduce the odor wafting from its controversial West Seventh Street fuel plant in St. Paul or face a judge's wrath under a tentative deal with the city and a group of residents. For the first time in a three-year dispute about its operations, Gopher State acknowledges in the proposed court agreement that the plant creates smells objectionable to its neighbors and agrees to take steps to fight the stench. In exchange, the firm can keep turning
Published on September 16, 2003, Page A1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
METRO BRIEFING
ST. PAUL Ethanol plant fire blamed on equipment A fire Friday night in the roof and ceiling of the Gopher State Ethanol plant in St. Paul was caused by accidental overheating of plant equipment, St. Paul fire officials said Monday. Odor-reduction equipment known as a thermal oxidizer overheated and caused a fire in the insulation of the roofing and ceiling material. Damage was estimated at about $10,000. One firefighter was taken to Regions Hospital after
Published on July 29, 2003, Page B6, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
BLAZE IGNITES ATOP ROOF OF ETHANOL PLANT CAUSE REMAINS UNKNOWN, BUT FIRE IS FOURTH AT CONTROVERSIAL FACILITY
Source: BILL GARDNER, Pioneer Press
A fire that broke out Friday night in insulation under the roof of the Gopher State Ethanol plant in St. Paul was quickly extinguished, but not before attracting a crowd of neighbors who vented their anger at the unwelcome facility. "This is the fourth major fire here," said City Council Member Chris Coleman. "I'm tired of it, and I don't have to live right next to it." The cause of the blaze, which broke out about 8 p.m., was not immediately
Published on July 26, 2003, Page B1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHICS CODE NEEDS UPDATE KELLY ERRS IN ACCEPTING TRIP TO WILD PLAYOFF GAME
St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly did not make his best decision April 28, when he accepted an invitation to fly to Denver aboard a private plane to attend a Minnesota Wild playoff game. The free trip has led to an ethics complaint now pending before the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board and to a prolonged embarrassment for the mayor. There has been, at least in the past, some uncertainty about how the state's ban on lobbyist gifts to public officials applies to local
Published on June 9, 2003, Page A8, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ST. PAUL JUDGE MULLS LAWSUIT OVER ETHANOL ODOR CITY, PLANT OWNERS FINISH ARGUMENTS
Source: ARON KAHN, Pioneer Press
Is Gopher State Ethanol a respectful neighbor or a pain in the nose? That's what a Ramsey County District Court jury was trying to decide Monday following final arguments in the city of St. Paul's lawsuit against the West Seventh Street plant, accused of being a public nuisance by producing offensive odors that make its neighbors' lives miserable. Whatever the verdict, it won't be immediately known to anyone but Judge Dale Lindman. Because the
Published on May 20, 2003, Page B2, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
SENATE BILL CUTS GOPHER STATE ETHANOL PLANT OUT OF SUBSIDY
Source: Jim Ragsdale, Pioneer Press
Gopher State Ethanol, the former brewery on West Seventh Street in St. Paul that has faced noise and odor complaints from its neighbors, could be the big loser in this year's legislative battle over ethanol subsidies. Sen. Sandra Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, whose district includes Gopher State, inserted a provision into a Senate budget bill that would deny per-gallon state subsidies to the St. Paul ethanol plant. "I don't think we should reward bad behavior," Pappas said,
Published on May 14, 2003, Page A10, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
TRIAL WILL CENTER ON ETHANOL PLANT'S ABILITY TO CONTROL SMELL DISPUTE PITS NEIGHBORS AGAINST PLANT
Source: Aron Kahn, Pioneer Press
Can an ethanol plant in an urban neighborhood pass the smell test -- or even survive? A trial begun Monday will help answer those questions as the city of St. Paul attempts to have Gopher State Ethanol declared a public nuisance, a label usually reserved for smut peddlers and houses of prostitution. The city and neighbors have been tangling with the plant for three years over odors and noise from the facility at 882 W. Seventh St. A previous settlement, which called for
Published on May 13, 2003, Page E1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
CAPITOL BRIEFING
Ethanol producer defends subsidies The Gopher State Ethanol plant was described Tuesday as a bad neighbor, damaging the health of residents in St. Paul's West Seventh Street neighborhood and forcing some to move. But James Freeman, the company's chief executive officer, told the Senate Environment, Agriculture and Economic Development Committee that his company has spent millions of dollars on pollution control and noise suppression equipment and is now complying
Published on April 2, 2003, Page B3, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
COUNCIL TAKES STANCE ON ETHANOL, GAY RIGHTS
Source: MARISA AGHA Pioneer Press
St. Paul city leaders Wednesday formalized their legislative lobbying positions on payments for ethanol producers and the protection of gays and lesbians. In a 5-2 vote, the City Council approved supporting a state Senate measure that would restrict payments to ethanol producers in designated first-class cities, which would affect the controversial West Seventh Street plant in St. Paul. "We've been the guinea pig on that experiment for the last several
Published on March 6, 2003, Page B2, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
CONCERNS OVER CITY PANEL LEAD TO CHANGE 2 MEMBERS REPLACED FOR ETHANOL PLANT TIES
Source: Tim Nelson, Pioneer Press
St. Paul is replacing two members of a citizens committee appointed to review operations in the city's License, Inspections and Environmental Protection Department, citing concerns by neighbors of the city's ethanol plant. Mayor Randy Kelly on Wednesday named five people to the seven-member panel, including Lisa Nasseff, spokeswoman for the troubled Gopher State Ethanol operation. Another appointee, former legislator and state commerce commissioner Bert McKasy, is registered
Published on February 7, 2003, Page B2, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
PROPOSAL SEEKS ETHANOL PLANT RELOCATION BUDGET CRISIS MAY HURT LEGISLATION'S CHANCES
Source: MARISA AGHA, Pioneer Press
Some state lawmakers are trying to move the nation's only urban ethanol producer to the country under a bill proposed this week in the Minnesota Senate. According to the proposed legislation, the state would help pay to move the controversial Gopher State Ethanol plant on West Seventh Street in St. Paul. The proposal comes in response to concerns from the St. Paul delegation about the plant and interest from rural lawmakers in bringing the plant to their areas, said state Sen. Gary
Published on February 1, 2003, Page B3, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
CITY ISSUES AIRED VIA INTERNET 4-YEAR-OLD ONLINE FORUM HOPING TO EXPAND PARTICIPATION
Source: KARL J. KARLSON, Pioneer Press
A 4-year-old Internet forum where people hash over St. Paul issues is trying to bring more ordinary residents and officials into the discussions. About 300 people subscribe to the free forum, which recently has hosted lively electronic exchanges on subjects such as school financing and the Gopher State ethanol plant. "We want more people of all backgrounds to get involved," said Tim Erickson, manager of the forum. The debates have been good, but
Published on January 26, 2003, Page B1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
SOME AVOID ETHANOL VOTES LAWMAKERS WORRY ABOUT PERCEIVED CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Source: HANK SHAW, CHARLES LASZEWSKI and PATRICK SWEENEY, Pioneer Press
Several of Minnesota's farmer-legislators say they have taken deliberate steps to avoid a possible conflict of interest between their corn-growing operations and their legislative support for the ethanol industry. A Republican senator was the latest to make that decision Thursday, when he chose not to vote on a budget proposal that would preserve a taxpayer-funded ethanol subsidy because he viewed it as a conflict. That's in contrast to Republican House Speaker
Published on January 24, 2003, Page A1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL SUBSIDY CUT DRAWS FIRE
Source: PATRICK SWEENEY and LEE EGERSTROM, Pioneer Press
Busloads of Minnesota corn farmers traveled to the Capitol Thursday to fight Gov. Tim Pawlenty's plan to wipe out $27 million in ethanol subsidies, and lawmakers handed them a quick victory. A Senate committee rejected Pawlenty's proposal to end a 20-cents-per-gallon subsidy to 12 outstate ethanol plants, agreeing only to cut the subsidy to Gopher State Ethanol, whose smelly emissions have infuriated neighbors in St. Paul's West Seventh Street area. And
Published on January 17, 2003, Page A1, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
WEST SEVENTH ETHANOL PLANT COULD BE BUDGET CASUALTY
Source: TIM NELSON, Pioneer Press
Ethanol producers -- including St. Paul's controversial Gopher State Ethanol -- were dealt a serious financial setback Tuesday as Gov. Tim Pawlenty outlined his plans to balance the state budget. The plan for the current fiscal year budget included a $26 million cut to the 20-cents-a-gallon subsidy that the state pays producers of the corn-derived motor fuel, added to gasoline as an oxygenating agent to reduce pollution. The subsidy, a key piece of the industry's
Published on January 15, 2003, Page A8, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL PLANT READY TO FULLY OPERATE OFFICIALS, NEIGHBORS MEET TO DISCUSS STATUS
Source: TIM NELSON, Pioneer Press
Gopher State Ethanol is ready to restart its thermal oxidizer and resume normal operation, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency officials told neighbors at a meeting near the St. Paul plant Wednesday night. "The new equipment is in place, waiting for inspection and approval by the city," compliance enforcement supervisor Steve Giddings told city officials and GSE neighbors as they met with federal regulators. It isn't clear when the West Seventh Street plant
Published on January 9, 2003, Page B2, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
GOPHER STATE FOES MAY FIGHT SETTLEMENT//GROUP WEIGHS ACTION IN FEDERAL COURT
Source: TIM NELSON Pioneer Press
St. Paul ethanol plant opponents may ask a U.S. District Court judge to scuttle the deal Gopher State has reached with state and federal regulators over emissions from the corn-processing facility on West Seventh Street."We've been through this before," said St. Paul attorney Mike Unger, who represents ethanol plant opponents organized as CASE, or Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment.His clients already intervened in a city lawsuit against Gopher State last year and
Published on October 4, 2002, Page B4, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANTS TO CURB POLLUTION//BUT DEAL IN MINNESOTA FAULTED BY ST. PAUL FOES
Source: CHARLES LASZEWSKI and TIM NELSON Pioneer Press
Twelve Minnesota ethanol plants, including the one in St. Paul, have agreed to clean up their air pollution and to pay fines, state and federal officials said Wednesday.Those actions occurred only because of the complaints of St. Paul residents, the officials said, but West Seventh Street homeowners who have fought the Gopher State Ethanol plant said they were not happy with the settlement.The agreement calls for plant owners to pay fines ranging from $19,000 to nearly $39,000 and to
Published on October 3, 2002, Page A1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
CITY BOARD DENIES PERMITS FOR STONIC ETHANOL PLANT
Source: Associated Press
MENOMONIE, Wis. -- A Menomonie city board denied the necessary permits for a proposed $32 million ethanol plant that would have produced 20 million gallons of the fuel a year.The city's Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously denied a conditional use permit for Stonic Energy's planned ethanol plant, drawing cheers and a standing ovation from the nearly 75 people who attended a hearing on the plant Tuesday.The zoning board determined that the company had not proven it could prevent
Published on October 3, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
JUDGE ISSUES SPLIT DECISION ON ETHANOL PLANT//HE FAULTS COMPANY, BUT WON'T SHUT IT DOWN
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman on Friday found the Gopher State Ethanol plant in contempt of a lawsuit agreement with St. Paul but denied the city's request to temporarily close the plant.In ruling on the two separate complaints, Lindman said that Gopher State's violations of nighttime noise levels on July 12 and Aug. 2 and 14 were "knowing, willful and without excuse."The West Seventh Street-based ethanol plant was ordered to pay $5,000 to the city and
Published on September 28, 2002, Page B3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT IS HARMFUL, CITY SAYS//JUDGE WEIGHS ACTION TO SHUT IT DOWN
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
Claiming the Gopher State Ethanol plant would cause "irreparable harm" to St. Paul's West Seventh neighborhood, the city argued before Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman on Thursday that the plant should be shut down until it fixes its odor and noise problems.In seeking a temporary injunction forcing the ethanol facility on West Seventh Street to close, assistant city attorney Eric Larson noted that the plant's continued operation was having a painful impact on
Published on September 27, 2002, Page B3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT//GOPHER STATE ETHANOL PLANT LAWSUIT REVIVED//CITY MIGHT ALSO ASK COURT TO CLOSE FACILITY
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
The city of St. Paul reinitiated its lawsuit against the Gopher State Ethanol plant on Monday, seeking immediate resolution to the plant's long-standing odor emissions.Assistant City Attorney Eric Larson added that he would likely file a motion today for a temporary restraining order compelling the plant to close until its noise problems are solved.The two-pronged attack comes as the city has given up hope that the plant, located on West Seventh Street, will be successful in
Published on September 24, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT'S CLOSURE SOUGHT//COUNCIL RETURNING COMPLAINT TO COURT
Source: TIM NELSON, Pioneer Press
St. Paul is going to make another attempt at shutting down Gopher State Ethanol, the controversial West Seventh Street corn processing facility that has drawn myriad complaints about the noise and smell it makes.The odor has been worse recently because the plant's odor-reducing thermal oxidizer has been inoperable for about a month. Spokeswoman Lisa Nasseff said it isn't expected to be back online for as long as eight weeks.That prompted the St. Paul City Council to adopt a
Published on September 19, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
GOPHER STATE NEIGHBORS MAKING HAY WITH PROTEST
Source: TIM NELSON, Pioneer Press
A disgruntled neighbor's recent appearance before the St. Paul City Council has given Gopher State Ethanol opponents a novel new plan to fight the West Seventh Street plant."It's not safe for me to be out in my yard," Arno Karner told the council on Aug. 28, explaining why he hasn't mowed the knee-high grass and weeds at 627 Palace Ave., a block away from the ethanol facility. He was wearing a pair of earmuffs at the meeting, and complained about the noise from the
Published on September 9, 2002, Page B3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT'S OFFER OF NEGOTIATION REJECTED
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
Frustrated by what they consider too little too late, two St. Paul community organizations and City Council Member Chris Coleman have rejected the Gopher State Ethanol plant's call for a citizen advisory group to address the facility's long-standing noise and odor problems.The West Seventh Street community's apparent unwillingness to create a committee with Gopher State is indicative of frustrations that have built up among neighborhood residents. They cite the company's
Published on September 4, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
RULING EXPECTED ON NOISE LAWSUIT//RESIDENTS WANT PLANT CLOSED IMMEDIATELY
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
After two days of contempt hearings earlier this week, Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman is expected to rule next month on whether the Gopher State Ethanol Plant is in contempt of St. Paul noise guidelines.The city and a neighborhood group took the West Seventh Street plant to court again after repeated noise violations, threatening to shut it down if it doesn't fix its noise problems.St. Paul also is seeking full reimbursement for court expenses, a $1,000-a-day penalty, if
Published on August 24, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
CITY THREATENING ETHANOL PLANT//ALLEGED NOISE VIOLATIONS PROMPT RETURN TO COURT
Source: TIM NELSON, Pioneer Press
The city of St. Paul is taking Gopher State Ethanol back to court, seeking a $1,000-a-day fine and threatening to shut down the plant for repeated noise standard violations.Assistant City Attorney Eric Larson, in pleadings filed earlier this week, said he will seek a contempt finding against the company in Ramsey County District Court. The city sued the company over noise and odor violations in 2001 but reached a settlement in December that called for the ethanol operation voluntarily to
Published on August 9, 2002, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
CLOSED BUT HOPEFUL//ALTHOUGH MINNESOTA BREWING'S PERFORMANCE SINCE ITS BANKRUPTCY FILING CONTINUED A SAGA OF "WHAT-IFS," EXECUTIVES ARE OPTIMISTIC A BUYER WILL BE FOUND.
Source: JOHN WELBES AND MIKE HUGHLETT, Pioneer Press
While executives at Minnesota Brewing Co. remain optimistic a buyer will be found, the future of the shuttered brewery on West Seventh Street is awash in uncertainty.The money-losing plant was closed Monday to ensure that employees would get paid for the shifts they had worked, Jim Freeman, the company president, said Tuesday."This wasn't part of the plan," said Freeman, who arrived in April to try to turn things around. "It's a crying shame."Minnesota
Published on June 26, 2002, Page C1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
TAPPED OUT//FINANCIALLY STRAPPED MINNESOTA BREWING CO. HAS CLOSED ITS HISTORIC BREWERY ON ST. PAUL'S WEST SEVENTH STREET. BUT THE FIRM'S CONTROVERSIAL ETHANOL-MAKING OPERATION APPARENTLY WILL CONTINUE.
Source: TIM NELSON AND PHILLIP PINA, Pioneer Press
Minnesota Brewing has shut down its West Seventh Street brewery, which may mark the end of St. Paul's historic beer brewing industry."They told them to take their stuff, and they said if they needed to come back for anything after today, they'd have to make an appointment," machinists union business representative Steve Galloway said of a company announcement to employees on Monday afternoon."They told everybody not to come to work tomorrow," Galloway said,
Published on June 25, 2002, Page A1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
SMALL FIRE SHUTTERS ETHANOL PLANT//BLAZE IN GRAIN DRYER IS SECOND SINCE MARCH
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
A small fire broke out Tuesday morning at the Gopher State Ethanol plant, causing part of West Seventh Street to be shut down during rush hour while St. Paul firefighters contained the blaze.The fire, which started shortly after 7 a.m. in the plant's grain dryer, forced the facility to shut down. This is the second time in three months that the plant's grain-drying mechanism has caught fire, said Fire Department spokesman Ted Vanderbeek.Vanderbeek said the fire was limited to
Published on June 5, 2002, Page B3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
MINNESOTA BREWING DETAILS RESTRUCTURING//PLAN SEES FEWER JOBS, UNION VOTE ON PAY CUT
Source: DAVID HANNERS Pioneer Press
Bankrupt Minnesota Brewing Holding Co. went to court Wednesday to present its restructuring plan. It is heavy on cutting its work force, trying to find new investors and getting people to drink more beer.Grain Belt Premium beer, to be precise.As many as one-third -- or 60 -- of the brewery's 180 workers could lose their jobs under the plan; managers and hourly workers would take pay cuts of 8 percent for at least three months."I am optimistic. There are a lot of things
Published on May 23, 2002, Page C1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT FOUND TO BE PARTLY AT FAULT//2 NIGHTTIME NOISE VIOLATIONS NOT CHRONIC, JUDGE SAYS
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman ruled Wednesday that the Gopher State Ethanol plant twice violated nighttime noise standards set by the city.The plant, however, will stay open because the judge did not find enough evidence to conclude that the plant was in continuous violation of noise levels.He also noted that neither the city nor the plant -- located within Minnesota Brewing Co. on West Seventh Street -- had established a noise-testing protocol.During testimony earlier
Published on May 23, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANTS UPGRADE//THE EPA SAYS MANY ETHANOL PLANTS MUST REDUCE HARMFUL EMISSIONS. MINNESOTA FACTORIES ARE READY TO MAKE THE INVESTMENT.
Source: LEE EGERSTROM, Pioneer Press
Some owners of Minnesota's 14 ethanol factories seem unfazed by the million-dollar upgrades that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is requiring to reduce emissions.They say that they already were planning to install the equipment -- called thermal oxidizers -- as part of their expansions, which, collectively, are expected to double the amount of ethanol made in Minnesota.Corner Stone Farmers Cooperative in Luverne, for example, received a permit on Friday to expand its
Published on May 16, 2002, Page C1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT HEARING NEARLY OVER//FIRM REVEALS ITS FINANCES
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
Testimony at the Gopher State Ethanol contempt hearings concluded Wednesday with revelations of the company's financial problems and a health assessment finding no significant impact on residents living near the St. Paul plant, located on West Seventh Street.Jim Freeman, the new chief executive officer of MBC Holding Co. and Gopher State, testified that the plant owed $2.6 million to vendors and that a nighttime shutdown of plant operations would essentially put the ethanol company out
Published on May 9, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT'S NOISE ISSUE STIRS DEBATE//NO RESOLUTION YET AT CONTEMPT HEARING
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
A long day of testimony at the Gopher State Ethanol contempt hearing concluded with no resolution Tuesday as attorneys from the city of St. Paul, a neighborhood group and the plant debated noise-testing methods.The hearing will continue today at 2 p.m., and then Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman will consider whether to hold the plant in contempt of a legal settlement reached in December with the city. The deal mandated the plant, on West Seventh Street, comply with the city's
Published on May 8, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
FYI
The Gopher State Ethanol plant in St. Paul has established a 24-hour hot line for residents to call with concerns about noise and odor emissions.As part of a settlement reached between the city and Gopher State in December, the West Seventh Street plant was required to address the emissions problems. However, the extent of the plant's compliance has remained the subject of debate in the neighborhood.Residents who would like a response to their concerns must leave their name,
Published on May 7, 2002, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
POLLUTION FEARED AT ETHANOL PLANTS//EPA WILL ASK FOR CHANGES TO REDUCE EMISSIONS
Source: Lee Egerstrom, Pioneer Press
Ethanol processing plants may be releasing more harmful pollutants into the air than the government once thought, prompting the Environmental Protection Agency and state pollution regulators to begin monitoring emissions with new testing equipment.In a letter to the industry's trade group, the EPA said the problem is common to "most, if not all, ethanol facilities." Officials in the agency's Chicago office, which oversees nearly half the industry's plants, are
Published on May 4, 2002, Page A1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ALL SIDES CLASH IN ETHANOL HEARING//NOISE-TESTING RESULTS DEBATED BY LAWYERS
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
In a courtroom atmosphere reminiscent of a television drama, the combatants in the Gopher State Ethanol lawsuit squared off Friday over noise testing conducted at the company's plant on West Seventh Street.The hearing was to determine whether the plant -- the source of widespread odor and noise problems since it opened two years ago within the Minnesota Brewing Co. complex -- has violated a legal agreement requiring it to comply with noise regulations set by the city.Attorneys from
Published on May 4, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
TROUBLED BREWING FIRM HAS NEW CEO//FREEMAN ALSO TAKES ON ETHANOL PLANT WOES
Source: MURALI BALAJI Pioneer Press
Seeking to rebuild an image tarnished by recent financial and legal problems, MBC Holding Co., the parent company of Minnesota Brewing, on Tuesday named a new CEO and chief operating officer for the West Seventh Street brewery and Gopher State Ethanol Plant.Jim Freeman of Collegeville, Pa., a board member of MBC Holding Co., replaces Jack Lee, who will remain as president of the brewery. He previously was a vice president at Waco Sales Associates, a filtration system distributor based in
Published on April 24, 2002, Page C1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
NEW PACT REACHED IN ETHANOL PLANT DISPUTE
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
In a rare moment, a spirit of conciliation was in the air Wednesday afternoon in St. Paul in the long-running ethanol plant dispute.First came a new settlement agreement between a neighborhood group and the Gopher State Ethanol Plant, and then the St. Paul City Council voted to dismiss its lawsuit against the carbon dioxide facility that operates at the plant.The carbon dioxide unit had been named a co-defendant in the city's original lawsuit against Gopher State but wasn't
Published on April 18, 2002, Page B4, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT SUBSIDIARY DROPPED FROM LAWSUIT//PARTIES IN DISPUTE TO CONTINUE TALKS
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
In what officials describe as a formality, the city of St. Paul is set to drop its lawsuit against a carbon dioxide facility owned and operated by Minnesota Brewing Co. and Gopher State Ethanol.The carbon dioxide unit had been a co-defendant in the city's original nuisance litigation against the West Seventh Street ethanol plant, the source of widespread odor and noise complaints, but it wasn't included in a settlement agreement reached in December between the city and the
Published on April 16, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ST. PAULHEARING TO CONSIDER ETHANOL PLANT'S NOISE
A court hearing is set for May 3 on noise levels at the Gopher State Ethanol plant that the city of St. Paul claims violated a court-approved agreement.The plant, however, says it is in compliance and will have its experts at the hearing before Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman.Since March, the West Seventh Street plant has failed noise tests several times, contrary to the city's agreement with the ethanol
Published on April 13, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
COUNCIL DEADLOCKS ON PLANT ENFORCEMENT
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
Representatives of a neighborhood group mired in a legal battle with the Gopher State Ethanol plant blasted the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday after members deadlocked over a resolution calling for greater enforcement of the West Seventh Street plant's long-standing odor and noise emissions.The 3-3 vote, with Council Member Jim Reiter absent, was met with shock and surprise from both members of the West Seventh-based Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment (CASE) and officials
Published on March 28, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT IS OPERATING AGAIN
Source: Theresa Monsour, Pioneer Press
Gopher State Ethanol, shut down through the weekend and Monday for inspections after a fire Friday in a grain dryer, reopened around noon Tuesday, plant and city officials said.The fire resulted in minimal damage to the West Seventh Street plant, but St. Paul Fire Department officials wanted the facility to fix a couple of things and go through inspections before reopening. Creosote was cleaned out of ductwork and some wiring was done so a damper inside the grain dryer would close
Published on March 27, 2002, Page B6, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOLPLANT EXPECTED TO REOPEN TODAY//SEVERAL STEPS TAKEN AFTER FIRE, INSPECTION
Source: Theresa Monsour, Pioneer Press
Gopher State Ethanol, shut down through the weekend and Monday for inspections after Friday's fire in a grain dryer, is expected to reopen today.The fire resulted in minimal damage, and officials at the West Seventh Street plant had hoped to reopen Monday, pending approval from the city and fire department. Instead, it will probably reopen today after some issues are resolved and another inspection takes place, said St. Paul Deputy Mayor Dennis Flaherty.A five-member hazardous
Published on March 26, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
FIRE LEAVES ETHANOL PLANT SHUT DOWN//BLAZE QUICKLY SNUFFED
Source: THERESA MONSOUR, Pioneer Press
A fire in a grain dryer Friday morning resulted in lots of smoke and fire rigs, but minimal damage at Gopher State Ethanol on West Seventh Street in St. Paul. The plant will remain shut down through the weekend for inspections, and plant officials hope to reopen sometime Monday pending approval from the city and Fire Department."We have no reason to believe that there is any immediate threat to the neighborhood or the workers in the plant," Mayor Randy Kelly said in a news
Published on March 23, 2002, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
NEIGHBORS SAY PLANT NOT MAKING PROGRESS
Source: Tim Nelson, Pioneer Press
The city isn't holding the ethanol plant on West Seventh Street to a promise that the operation would quiet down and stop smelling bad, plant opponents told the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday."The issue isn't resolved and your job isn't done," attorney Mike Unger told the council as more than 100 neighbors gathered for a hearing on the city's settlement of a nuisance lawsuit against Gopher State Ethanol. Unger represents a neighborhood group that joined
Published on March 21, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT RALLY
The Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment will hold a fund-raising rally and picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the West Seventh Community Center, 265 Oneida St., for its ongoing legal efforts against nearby Gopher State Ethanol.The group grew out of neighborhood opposition to continuing noise and odor problems that have plagued area residents since the plant's opening in spring 2000.The group's attorney, Mike Unger, will be on hand to talk about the
Published on March 1, 2002, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT, GROUP REACH ACCORD//DEAL COULD LEAD TO JOINT EXAMINATION OF CONTROVERSIAL ODOR, NOISE EMISSIONS
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
In a step toward a possible resolution of nearly two years of conflict, the Gopher State Ethanol plant and a group of residents from St. Paul's West Seventh Street neighborhood tentatively agreed Wednesday to explore a joint plan to control plant odor and noise emissions, the source of widespread neighborhood complaints.The city had been engaged in a yearlong legal battle with the ethanol company over the problems but finally agreed to conditions that the plant comply with city
Published on February 28, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
REORGANIZATION PLAN GIVES BREWERY FUNDS TO KEEP GOING// INVESTORS OFFER $3 MILLION IN LOANS
Source: LEE EGERSTROM, Pioneer Press
Attorneys for creditors and MBC Holding Co., the operator of Minnesota Brewing, reached agreement Tuesday on conditions for the St. Paul brewery to accept an infusion of money and keep operating while it seeks reorganization under Bankruptcy Court protection.A preliminary hearing on the brewing company's reorganization plan began Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minneapolis. Meetings during the day resolved procedural objections raised by an attorney for an unsecured creditor,
Published on February 27, 2002, Page C3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
BREWERY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY//FILING ALLOWS MINNESOTA BREWING TO STAY OPEN AS IT SEEKS FINANCING
Source: LEE EGERSTROM Pioneer Press
MBC Holding Co., parent of St. Paul-based Minnesota Brewing, filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Thursday after investors at neighboring Gopher State Ethanol pledged $3 million to keep the St. Paul brewery afloat.The filing buys time for Minnesota Brewing, the maker of Grain Belt and Pig's Eye beer products, to keep beer production flowing and 180 workers on the job while the company seeks new financing, said Jack Lee, company president.The
Published on February 22, 2002, Page C1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
PLANT MEETS TERMS OF SETTLEMENT, CITY SAYS
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
Even though its odor and noise problems are still not resolved, the Gopher State Ethanol plant is meeting the requirements of a lawsuit settlement, the St. Paul City Council was told Wednesday.Assistant City Attorney Eric Larson said that the plant had complied with February noise guidelines outlined in an agreement between the city and the West Seventh Street ethanol production facility, which operates within Minnesota Brewing Co.The fortunes of the struggling brewery, which faces an
Published on February 14, 2002, Page B3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
BREWERY BATTLES PRODUCTION WOES//EXPANSION STARTED MINNESOTA BREWING'S FINANCIAL SLIDE
Source: LEE EGERSTROM Pioneer Press
By Minnesota Brewing's reckoning, 2001 should have been the best year ever for brewing beer and profits at its West Seventh Street facility.Instead, the regional brewing company is in lingering negotiations with investors, bankers and the city of St. Paul over refinancing schemes needed to stay in business."We had a profit of about $600,000 a year ago," said Jack Lee, president and chief executive at the brewery. "This year should have been our big one."But
Published on February 14, 2002, Page C1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
CITY OFFICIALS WILL SEEK ASSISTANCE FOR BREWERY//STATE'S BACKING OF LOAN LIKELY TO BE SOUGHT
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
After turning down Minnesota Brewing Co.'s request for city backing of a bank loan, St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly and City Council Member Chris Coleman said they would do whatever they could to secure the necessary financial support to keep the struggling West Seventh Street brewery open.Coleman told the Pioneer Press on Thursday that the city would likely ask the state Department of Trade and Economic Development to assist the plant in securing a private loan."We need to come up
Published on February 1, 2002, Page B4, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
BREWERY WON'T GET CITY HELP//LOAN GUARANTEE REJECTED
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
The St. Paul City Council will not hear a request to back a $2 million bank loan to help the Minnesota Brewing Co., a move that company officials say jeopardizes the future of the struggling West Seventh Street firm."Without the city's guarantee ... the brewery will close" within months, company spokeswoman Jodi Ellwood said Wednesday. "This is an immediate need," she said, echoing statements made earlier by Bruce Hendry, chairman of the brewery's parent firm,
Published on January 31, 2002, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT IS SPARED SANCTIONS BY JUDGE//BUT COURT WARNS FIRM ABOUT ITS OBLIGATIONS
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman on Tuesday denied a St. Paul neighborhood group's request to impose sanctions against the Gopher State Ethanol plant for reported noise violations earlier this month.However, Lindman warned plant attorney Tom Fabel that his clients "are living on borrowed time" and must comply with all the guidelines set by a lawsuit settlement reached between St. Paul and the West Seventh Street plant last month. Among the agreement's
Published on January 30, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
BREWERY SEEKS BACKING FROM CITY//LOAN GUARANTEES EYED
Source: Tim Nelson, Pioneer Press
The parent company of St. Paul's embattled ethanol plant is looking for city help to keep Minnesota Brewing in operation and 200 employees on the job."Without this help, I think the brewery will close," spokeswoman Jodi Ellwood said Friday. She said Jack Lee, president of the company, was meeting with city officials to figure out how much and what kind of help the brewery needs.The crisis is no surprise: Lee told the City Council last month that the brewery was having
Published on January 26, 2002, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT MEETS LATEST NIGHT NOISE TEST//EXECUTIVE IS HEARTENED, BUT NEIGHBORS AREN'T
Source: TIM NELSON Pioneer Press
The controversial ethanol plant on St. Paul's West Seventh Street apparently has passed a new round of nighttime noise tests, conducted Wednesday, and is ready to meet the remaining terms of a settlement of a nuisance lawsuit brought against it by the city.Jack Lee, president of Minnesota Brewing and Gopher State Ethanol, welcomed the news Thursday."We are in compliance, and I hope the neighbors see that," Lee said.Monitors operated by the city's License,
Published on January 25, 2002, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT MISSES NOISE STANDARD//COMPANY SAYS CORRECTION MADE, BUT GROUP WILL PURSUE ENVIRONMENTAL MATTER IN COURT
Source: Tim Nelson, Pioneer Press
Gopher State Ethanol apparently has missed the first deadline set by the city to reduce the noise coming from the West Seventh Street plant, the subject of an ongoing lawsuit by neighbors.The city and the company settled their part of the suit late last month, when the ethanol plant -- one of three companies operating at the old Schmidt brewery -- agreed to step down noise and odor emissions.But attorney Mike Unger, who represents a group of nearby residents, said Tuesday that the
Published on January 23, 2002, Page B3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL SETTLEMENT PROMPTS FEUD GROUP, COUNCIL MEMBER AT ODDS
Source: MURALI BALAJI Pioneer Press
Following St. Paul's action Wednesday to settle a lawsuit with the Gopher State Ethanol plant, a war of words has erupted between an intervening neighborhood group and City Council Member Chris Coleman.The disagreement began shortly after the council's 6-1 vote to accept a settlement that sets deadlines for the West Seventh Street plant to solve its long-standing odor and noise problems and allows city inspectors to conduct odor emissions tests.Since the plant's opening
Published on December 28, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL LAWSUIT SETTLED//BUT CITIZENS GROUP DENOUNCES CITY'S DEAL WITH PLANT
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
In an effort to end a yearlong legal battle, the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday agreed to a lawsuit settlement with the embattled Gopher State Ethanol plant that infuriated neighborhood residents.Mike Unger, an attorney for the West Seventh neighborhood-based group Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment, complained that the group was left out of settlement negotiations and that he received two hours' notice before the council meeting to review the draft agreement.The
Published on December 27, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ONE CITIZEN EXERCISES HIS RIGHT TO MAKE A STINK
Source: Laura Billings, Pioneer Press Columnist
Here's a fun news quiz, kids! Read the following quotation and guess the identity of the speaker:"They would liken this to an airport or a train or a hospital or a jail, things that people really don't want built next to them, but as a community we need them, and somebody in fact has to live with those annoyances. This doesn't fit into that category at all. This is an assault on the community by big business. This is not a community venture. This is a for-profit
Published on December 11, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
JUDGE REFUSES TO CLOSE ETHANOL PLANT//DECISION: DEFENDANTS WOULD SUFFER MOST
Source: MURALI BALAJI and HANNAH ALLAM, Pioneer Press
Striking a blow to St. Paul's legal efforts and the wishes of West Seventh Street residents, Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman on Friday denied an injunction to temporarily shut down the Gopher State Ethanol plant.Lindman said in his decision that closing the plant would harm the defendants -- Minnesota Brewing Co., the ethanol company and a jointly operated carbon dioxide facility -- more than area residents if the plant were kept open. He also said questions remain about the
Published on December 8, 2001, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
METRO/REGIONAL BRIEFING
ST. PAUL Ethanol plant will seek suit's dismissalThe Gopher State Ethanol plant today will ask for dismissal of a civil lawsuit brought by St. Paul over long-standing odor and noise problems.Representatives of the plant, which operates within Minnesota Brewing Co. on West Seventh Street, have noted that the plant's odor and noise emissions are being brought into acceptable standards as defined by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The plant's attorneys also have
Published on December 7, 2001, Page B6, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT REACHES DEAL WITH CONTRACTOR
Source: Todd Nelson, Pioneer Press
Gopher State Ethanol officials expect to work out a payment plan today with a construction company that built its embattled St. Paul plant, already the subject of a city lawsuit and neighborhood complaints stemming from long-standing noise and odor problems.The agreement would come a day after Harris Cos. of St. Paul filed a civil suit Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court seeking $2.7 million in unpaid bills from Gopher State Ethanol and its parent company, Minnesota Brewing.Jack
Published on November 29, 2001, Page B5, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
MYSTERY LEAK ANGERS CITIZENS//ETHANOL PLANT OFFICIALS SAY IT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
Nearby residents are steaming over what they consider the latest problem stemming from the operation of the Gopher State Ethanol plant on St. Paul's West Seventh Street.But unlike the plant's well-documented odor and noise emissions, the neighbors and environmental advocates' latest concern is a discharge they can see: a thick, foul-smelling liquid pouring out of the facility's storm drainage system. Residents, who say plant officials haven't assuaged their
Published on November 23, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
GOPHER STATE ETHANOL PLANT//CASE HAS COST CITY $117,000 SO FAR
Source: Murali Balaji
The city attorney's office has spent $117,000 so far on civil and criminal action against the Gopher State Ethanol plant and its noise and odor problems, the St. Paul City Council was told Wednesday during a review session on the proposed 2002 budget.Although the criminal misdemeanor case against the controversial West Seventh Street plant was dismissed earlier this year, there could be additional costs next year if litigation continues into next year, council members were
Published on November 22, 2001, Page B3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
WEST SEVENTH STREET//MEDIATION STALLS ON ETHANOL PLANT//CITY LAWSUIT TARGETS ODOR, NOISE PROBLEMS
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
Attorneys for the city of St. Paul, a West Seventh neighborhood group and the Gopher State Ethanol plant again sat down Friday with a mediator to try to resolve the city's lawsuit over the plant's long-standing odor and noise problems.It was the second attempt in two weeks by the three sides to reach a compromise on the plant, located within Minnesota Brewing Co. on West Seventh Street. No resolution was reached, and no date has been set for any future sessions.Gopher
Published on November 17, 2001, Page B3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
JUDGE ALLOWS GROUP TO JOIN ETHANOL PLANT NEGOTIATIONS//GOPHER STATE, CITY SEEKING SETTLEMENT
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
With the city of St. Paul and the Gopher State Ethanol plant still negotiating an agreement that would allow the controversial facility to stay open, a neighborhood group is celebrating a judge's decision this week that allows them to take part in the settlement discussions.The city is suing the facility as a public nuisance. The West Seventh Street neighborhood group, Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment (CASE), has been trying to join the discussions that are meant to resolve
Published on October 27, 2001, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
DISPUTE GOES TO MEDIATION//PLANT, CITY AND CITIZENS' GROUP AGREE TO TALKS
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
Hoping to expedite an agreement that would end odor and noise problems at the Gopher State Ethanol in St. Paul, the city, a neighborhood group and the plant have agreed to mediation.The St. Paul City Council Wednesday authorized City Attorney Clayton Robinson to move forward with mediation after both the Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment and representatives of the plant, which operates within Minnesota Brewing Co. on West Seventh Street, agreed to the idea.The city is suing
Published on October 12, 2001, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT FILES OBJECTION OVER TALKS//FIRM CONCERNED ABOUT CITIZENS GROUP'S ROLE
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
The Gopher State Ethanol plant Thursday filed an objection to a West Seventh Street group's plan to intervene in litigation negotiations between St. Paul and the controversial facility, which is being sued as a public nuisance.The Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment (CASE) last month asked to take part in ongoing settlement discussions between the plant and the city attorney. The city didn't object at the time, and neither did the ethanol company.However, now the
Published on September 21, 2001, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
SMALL FIRE SHUTS DOWN ETHANOL PLANT FOR DAY//INCIDENT FOLLOWS OTHERS THAT UPSET NEIGHBORS
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
The Gopher State Ethanol plant shut down for the day Monday after a morning fire that left officials of the St. Paul plant assessing the damage and neighbors scratching their heads over the latest incident involving the controversial West Seventh Street facility.St. Paul firefighters were called to the plant shortly after 11 a.m. after the insulation above the plant's new odor-reduction device, a thermal oxidizer, began to heat up.Fire Department spokesman Ted Vanderbeek said the
Published on September 18, 2001, Page C1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
GUIDELINES FOR SETTLING ETHANOL SUIT ARE SOUGHT
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
Hoping to get speedy compliance from the Gopher State Ethanol plant on long-standing odor and noise issues, the St. Paul City Council voted 6-1 Wednesday to adopt guidelines for any civil litigation settlement between the city and the plant.The city is suing the plant, located within the Minnesota Brewing Co. on West Seventh Street, on the grounds that it constitutes a public nuisance. The city had previously filed misdemeanor charges against the plant over noise issues but dropped them in
Published on September 6, 2001, Page B3, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
LEAK HURTS ETHANOL PLANT'S CASE//IMPATIENCE GROWS AT 2ND AMMONIA MISHAP
Source: Murali Balaji, Pioneer Press
Just when it seemed things couldn't get any worse for the Gopher State Ethanol Plant, they did.An ammonia leak Sunday at the plant on West Seventh Street in St. Paul was the second such incident in a month and gave the company another black eye.The plant has been the target of widespread neighborhood complaints over odor and noise problems since it opened last May.On top of the neighborhood's ire, the ethanol plant -- which operates within Minnesota Brewing Co. -- remains
Published on September 4, 2001, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
AMMONIA LEAKS AT W. 7TH PLANT
Source: MATT PEIKEN, PIONEER PRESS
The latest ammonia leak at the Gopher State Ethanol plant caused more insult than injury Sunday night.Responding to reports of a "strong odor" of ammonia coming from the plant, St. Paul firefighters closed traffic for about a half-hour along West Seventh Street, until they could secure a leaky gauge on a free-standing Cenex tank on plant property.Four bolts securing a gauge vibrated loose and caused the leak, said Jack Conrad, a fire department captain.A passerby on bike
Published on September 3, 2001, Page D5, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
FIX THINGS, THEN DEAL, CITY SAYS//ST. PAUL COUNCIL SEEKS SOLUTION TO ONGOING ODOR, NOISE ISSUES
Source: MURALI BALAJI, PIONEER PRESS
The St. Paul City Council and City Attorney Clayton Robinson agreed on a basic approach Wednesday that they hope will lead to a speedy resolution to the long-standing problems facing the controversial Gopher State Ethanol plant.After a closed meeting with council members and the city waiving attorney-client privilege, Robinson summarized the city's expectations of resolving the odor and noise issues that have plagued much of the West Seventh neighborhood for more than a year.One
Published on August 23, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
NEIGHBORS WANT SAY ABOUT PLANT//GROUP SEEKS TO INTERVENE IN SUIT AGAINST ETHANOL FACILITY
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
Frustrated by St. Paul's handling of long-standing complaints about the Gopher State Ethanol plant, a group of West Seventh neighborhood residents filed a notice Tuesday seeking to intervene in the city's civil litigation against the controversial facility.Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment, a newly formed group of neighborhood activists, said it hopes to discourage any potential settlement between the city and the ethanol plant -- which could be reached as early as today --
Published on August 22, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
LEAK WORSENS FIRM'S TROUBLES//BREWERY'S AMMONIA DISCHARGE FOLLOWS ETHANOL PLANT COMPLAINTS
Source: TONI COLEMAN AND MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
For months, it was the odor emanating from the Gopher State Ethanol plant that generated complaints from nearby St. Paul residents. Then on Tuesday evening the oppressive heat, a power failure and a subsequent ammonia leak made the night unbearable for many West Seventh Street neighborhood residents.For Christine Hannan, the anhydrous ammonia leak at the Minnesota Brewing Co. demonstrated yet again that the company, which owns the ethanol plant, should not be in an urban neighborhood.
Published on August 9, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
AMMONIA LEAK SICKENS WORKERS
Source: Lisa Donovan, Pioneer Press
An ammonia buildup late Tuesday night at Minnesota Brewing Co.'s West Seventh Street plant sent about 15 workers and a few McDonald's customers to the hospital and sickened some residents in the St. Paul neighborhood.The plant was evacuated about 10:30 p.m. and workers were sent to local hospitals complaining of nausea, dizziness and difficulty breathing. Three people were taken to Regions Hospital and an undetermined number were taken to United Hospital and St. Joseph's
Published on August 8, 2001, Page A1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT DROPS REQUEST FOR NOISE EXEMPTION
Source: VIRGINIA RYBIN, PIONEER PRESS
The operators of the Gopher State Ethanol plant on Friday dropped their request for permission to operate permanently at nighttime noise levels that exceed standards set by the city of St. Paul.Minnesota Brewing Co. sought an exemption earlier this month so the West Seventh Street plant could operate at 63 decibels, 8 above the 55-decibel level allowed by city ordinance at night.City Council Member Chris Coleman, who represents the West Seventh neighborhood, said the decision followed a
Published on July 28, 2001, Page B2, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT'S REQUEST RANKLES//NOISE EXEMPTION SOUGHT
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
St. Paul and community representatives are reacting with harsh criticism to efforts by the Gopher State Ethanol plant to gain permission to operate permanently at nighttime noise levels that exceed city standards.The ethanol company -- which last week saw misdemeanor charges over noise dropped as part of a deal with the city -- applied for a permanent variance earlier this month that would allow the West Seventh Street plant to operate at 63 decibels, 8 above the acceptable 55-decibel
Published on July 27, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT AND CITY SETTLE NOISE DISPUTE//MISDEMEANOR CHARGES WILL BE DROPPED AS PART OF AGREEMENT
Source: MURALI BALAJI, Pioneer Press
Citing the embattled Gopher State Ethanol plant's progress in resolving its noise issues, St. Paul City Attorney Clayton Robinson on Wednesday announced he has reached a settlement agreement with the West Seventh Street plant, its parent company Minnesota Brewing Co., and a jointly operated carbon dioxide facility that would dismiss misdemeanor charges against the defendants.Under the agreement, the defendants would pay a total of $39,000 to the city for legal costs.Robinson,
Published on July 19, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
OXIDIZER DECREASES ODOR FROM ETHANOL PLANT//NEIGHBORS ARE SURPRISED BY THE SUDDENLY CLEAN AIR
Source: MURALI BALAJI STAFF WRITER
When Tom Sommerhauser went outside his barbershop on West Seventh Street Tuesday morning, something familiar was missing -- the noxious odor that has emanated for more than a year from the ethanol plant across the street.Sommerhauser and other residents of the West Seventh and surrounding neighborhoods have been breathing easier since the Gopher State Ethanol Plant shut down June 18 to install new odor-reduction equipment called a thermal oxidizer."Right now, the air smells
Published on July 5, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT WORKING ON FIX//SOME REMAIN SKEPTICAL AS ODOR-FIGHTER GETS INSTALLED
Source: Theresa Monsour, Staff Writer
Starting Monday, neighbors of the Gopher State Ethanol plant along West Seventh Street in St. Paul will be able to breathe easier for at least a week.The plant is shutting down temporarily to finish installing a thermal oxidizer, a $1.2 million device designed to remove the odors that have become a source of irritation for people living in the area.Installation should be completed and the plant reopened sometime the week of June 25, said company spokeswoman Jodi Ellwood."We are
Published on June 16, 2001, Page B1, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
WILL LAST-CHANCE EFFORT TO CLEAR THE AIR BREW GOOD FEELINGS IN THE 'HOOD?
Source: Ronald D. Clark, Editorial Page Editor
Operators of the odor-plagued Gopher State Ethanol along West Seventh Street in St. Paul intend to shut down their plant in eight days. That should be very welcome news to neighbors, who have breathed foul air for more than a year since the plant started up. The neighbors will get up to a week of relief while the company completes installation, begun more than three months ago, of a thermal oxidizer. Officials hope to start up the plant again by June 25.The $1.2 million piece of equipment
Published on June 10, 2001, Page A18, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
AUGUST TRIAL SET FOR CASE AGAINST ETHANOL PLANT
Source: MURALI BALAJI, STAFF WRITER
The city of St. Paul's legal efforts to have the controversial Gopher State Ethanol plant declared a public nuisance will go to trial Aug. 6, after lawyers for both sides agreed Wednesday to get the civil case under way.City Attorney Clayton Robinson asked Ramsey County District Judge Margaret Marrinan to "proceed expeditiously," even though attorneys for the defendants sought more time to file several motions.Marrinan said she saw no reason to delay the trial.
Published on May 31, 2001, Page B6, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
PRESSURE BUILDS ON ETHANOL PLANT
ST. PAUL PLANS TO SEEK INJUNCTION OVER NOISE
Source: KARL J. KARLSON Staff Writer
St. Paul City Attorney Clayton Robinson on Wednesday said he will seek a court order next week against Gopher State Ethanol, an action that could result in closing the West Seventh Street plant. Robinson, in a memo to the City Council, said he is taking the action because "I have concluded that GSE's abatement of excessive noise cannot be effectively achieved without judicial intervention." In an interview, Robinson declined to say that he is asking a judge
Published on May 17, 2001, Page 1A, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
CITY ATTORNEY PROCEEDS WITH CHARGES AGAINST ETHANOL PLANT
MISDEMEANOR COUNTS PROMPTED BY ODOR, NOISE COMPLAINTS
Source: Murali Balaji Staff Writer
As expected, St. Paul City Attorney Clayton Robinson filed misdemeanor charges Thursday against the Gopher State Ethanol plant, the subject of widespread neighborhood complaint over persistent odor and noise problems. Robinson filed three separate complaints against the ethanol plant, Minnesota Brewing Co. and Messer Griesheim Industries, which operates a carbon dioxide retention facility within the West Seventh Street brewery. Each defendant is charged with 25 counts of
Published on May 4, 2001, Page 4B, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
CITY DUE TO FILE CHARGES OVER ETHANOL PLANT
COMPLAINT EXPECTED TO SITE NOISE ISSUES
Source: Murali Balaji Staff Writer
Seeing no immediate end to persistent odor and noise problems that have plagued St. Paul neighborhoods, City Attorney Clayton Robinson is expected to file misdemeanor charges today against the controversial Gopher State Ethanol plant. According to documents obtained from the city attorney's office, the action comes in response to the plant's failure to remedy its noise issues by April 2. Robinson, in a letter to the ethanol company's attorneys, states that he is
Published on May 2, 2001, Page 5B, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL PLANT FIX KILLED BY SENATE FUNDING REJECTED FOR ST. PAUL ISSUE
Source: Murali Balaji and Jim Ragsdale, Staff Writers
Efforts to get state funding to help finance a solution to odor problems at St. Paul's controversial Gopher State Ethanol plant were shot down Monday by the Minnesota Senate. On an amendment from Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, DFL-Erskine, the Senate voted 39-25 to eliminate a $300,000 grant for the plant, which operates within Minnesota Brewing Co. on West Seventh Street. The money, originally included in a Senate bill that funds a range of state agencies and
Published on May 1, 2001, Page 1B, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL PLANT FINED FOR NOISE, OTHER VIOLATIONS
Source: Murali Balaji Staff Writer
St. Paul's controversial Gopher State Ethanol plant has been fined $45,000 for noise and environmental violations since its opening last spring, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency announced Monday. Plant officials have been working with MPCA officials for the past nine months to reach a settlement and correct the violations, according to Jack Lee, president and CEO of the ethanol company, which operates within the Minnesota Brewing Co. facility on West Seventh
Published on April 17, 2001, Page 2B, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
MENOMONIE CONSIDERS ETHANOL PLANT
SOME WORRY ABOUT ODORS, BUT CITY LEADERS, FARMERS BACK PLAN
Source: Gary Dawson, Staff Writer
Area farmers and many community leaders here say a proposed ethanol plant promises the sweet smell of economic success, but some residents are worried such a facility won't pass a smell test. The debate over whether what's good for the rural economy vs. what might negatively affect the quality of life here has erupted since west central Wisconsin was proposed as the site of two ethanol plants. One would be about 50 miles east of Menomonie, on the western edge of
Published on April 15, 2001, Page 1B, Saint Paul Pioneer Press
ETHANOL PLANT DISCHARGES GRAIN DUST//FIRM APOLOGIZES FOR YELLOW MESS
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
Residents from some parts of St. Paul's West Seventh Street neighborhood awoke Thursday morning to find a yellow residue on their cars and sidewalks, the result of an accidental discharge from the Gopher State Ethanol plant.An apologetic Jack Lee, president of the ethanol company, said a few hundred pounds of distiller grains were emitted from the plant's grain dryer Wednesday night as a result of a failed test.The grains were to be diverted as part of the drying process, but
Published on March 31, 2001, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT TAKES ITS CASE TO LEGISLATURE//FUNDING PLEA BOUNCED TO ANOTHER COMMITTEE
Source: Murali Balaji Staff Writer After getting a less-than-friendly response from the city of St. Paul in recent weeks, Gopher State Ethanol officials Tuesday took their case for help in funding odor reduction equipment to the state Capitol.During a hearing of the House Commerce Committee, legislators questioned whether the state should help pay for a $1.2 million thermal oxidizer, which plant officials say could eliminate up to 98 percent of the facility's odor emissions.The ethanol plant - which operates within
Published on March 7, 2001, Page 5B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
CITY BALKS AT FUNDING ETHANOL PLANTS ODOR FIX//BUT SEEKING AID FROM STATE LIKELY TO BE A PROBLEM, TOO
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
FYIThe Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and the West Seventh/Fort Road Federation are looking for volunteers to join a neighborhood odor-monitoring committee, which will meet Monday. Call (651) 298-5599.Since last spring, St. Paul officials have had to deal with citizen complaints about odor and noise problems emanating from the Gopher State Ethanol plant on West Seventh Street.Now the city's problems could become the state's, as well.The City Council
Published on February 28, 2001, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
STATE GIVES OK FOR ETHANOL PLANT EQUIPMENT//YET NEIGHBORS VOICE CONCERN WITH PROCESS
Source: Theresa Monsour, Staff Writer
A permit amendment has been issued to the Gopher State Ethanol plant for installation of key odor-reducing equipment, St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency announced Wednesday.City and state officials called the quick approval a victory for the neighborhood. But some fear the equipment won't remove the big stink and also worry the abbreviated process has robbed neighbors of the opportunity for public discussion and input.The ethanol company, which
Published on February 22, 2001, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ROBINSON IS FACING BIG LEGAL CHALLENGE//CITY ATTORNEY READIES ETHANOL PLANT ACTION
Source: Murali Balaji Staff Writer
During his years as a criminal attorney for Ramsey County, Clayton Robinson earned a reputation as a tenacious prosecutor with a passion to win.Now, all eyes are back on him.Robinson, as St. Paul city attorney, faces what could be one of the most intriguing - and potentially groundbreaking - cases of his 21-year legal career: going to court to have the nation's first urban ethanol production facility declared a public nuisance.The case marks new territory for the city, which
Published on February 16, 2001, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT TARGETED BY CITY//UNANIMOUS COUNCIL SEEKS NUISANCE PROBE
Source: Murali Balaji Staff Writer
Citing an urgent need to solve the odor and noise problems of the Gopher State Ethanol plant, the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday rejected the advice of the city attorney, deciding unanimously to pursue a nuisance action against the West Seventh Street facility.Litigation could begin as early as next week against the ethanol company, which operates within Minnesota Brewing Co. and has been the center of neighborhood frustration since the plant opened last spring.The legal action -
Published on February 8, 2001, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ST. PAUL MAY SUE SMELLY ETHANOL PLANT//CITY ATTORNEY STUDIES COUNCIL'S LEGAL OPTIONS
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
Facing growing pressure from neighborhood groups bothered by odors from an ethanol plant, the St. Paul City Council could vote today to pursue legal action against the embattled West Seventh Street facility.Whether the city can proceed with a lawsuit against the Gopher State Ethanol Plant depends on a recommendation today from City Attorney Clayton Robinson.Robinson has been investigating whether the city can take legal action to declare the ethanol plant operating within Minnesota
Published on February 7, 2001, Page 5A, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
HI-YO, ODOR, AWAY! IT'S THE `NASAL RANGERS'!
Source: Nick Coleman, Staff Columnist
Today the St. Paul City Council will learn from the city attorney whether, after a year of complaints from citizens suffering from headaches and nausea, the only urban ethanol plant in the country might be a nuisance.Anyone who still wonders about that ought to get a good whiff of West Seventh. Chuck McGinley could teach them how. He's a man who knows noses.``Your nose is in front of your mouth because it's your last line of defense,'' says McGinley, a nationally
Published on February 7, 2001, Page 1A, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
WAITING FOR A PLAN TO ADDRESS THE SMELLY EMISSIONS GENERATED BY ST. PAUL'S ETHANOL PLANT IS FACING A DELAY, PROBABLY LEAVING NEIGHBORS TO CONTINUE HOLDING THEIR NOSES UNTIL MIDSUMMER.
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
FYIThe Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and the West Seventh/Fort Road Federation are looking for volunteers to join a neighborhood odor-monitoring committee, which will meet March 5. Call (651) 298-5599.Nearby residents likely will have to deal with continuing odor problems from the Gopher State Ethanol Plant until midsummer, under the St. Paul company's latest plan to find a permanent solution to community complaints.The apparent delay has angered some residents,
Published on January 31, 2001, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
SOOT CREATES DARK MYSTERY//STATE SEEKS SOURCE OF FALLOUT IN TWO CITY NEIGHBORHOODS
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
Officials from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency are looking into the cause of soot that fell in St. Paul's West End and West Side neighborhoods over the holiday weekend.The agency received a handful of calls earlier this week from residents who said their homes and property were affected by the dusty emissions. City Council Member Chris Coleman, who lives in the West Side, said his house was covered with black soot during the weekend.``I went to water my ice rink, and the
Published on December 28, 2000, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
CITY OKS SPENDING ON ETHANOL EXPERT
Source: From staff reports
The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday authorized spending up to $50,000 to hire experts to help it decide what can be done about the continuing odor problems from the Gopher State Ethanol plant on West Seventh Street.The money was put in the 2001 budget of the city attorney's office, which is investigating whether the city can cite the plant for nuisance violations.During his monthly update report, City Attorney Clayton Robinson told the council that the city is negotiating with
Published on December 14, 2000, Page 2B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
CITY COUNCIL GETS UPDATE ON ETHANOL PLANT TODAY
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
As officials from the embattled Gopher State Ethanol plant continue their efforts to stop odor and noise problems, St. Paul officials today are likely to get an update on the legal issues involved in a potential nuisance action against the new facility.City Attorney Clayton Robinson is expected to present an interim report to the City Council on the plant, located within Minnesota Brewing Co. on West Seventh Street.No timetable has been set on Robinson's final report, which will
Published on December 13, 2000, Page 4B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
COUNCIL APPROVES NUISANCE PROBE OF ETHANOL PLANT//ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP WILL ALSO HELP SEEK SOLUTION
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
In an effort to address growing community concerns about odor emissions from the Gopher State Ethanol plant, the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday called for an examination of whether the new West Seventh Street facility qualifies as a public nuisance.The 7-0 vote directs the city attorney's office to look into possible court action against the plant.Under the resolution, City Attorney Clayton Robinson will report to the council on the status of the nuisance
Published on November 9, 2000, Page 5B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT FACING CITY VOTE//COUNCIL WILL DECIDE ON PURSUING NUISANCE STUDY
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
DETAILSJack Lee, president of Minnesota Brewing Co. and Gopher State Ethanol, said a nuisance investigation by the city of St. Paul would not affect the plant's approach to mitigating the odor problem.The St. Paul City Council is expected to vote today on whether to conduct a nuisance investigation against the Gopher State Ethanol plant.The plant, which operates within the Minnesota Brewing Co. facility at 882 W. Seventh St., has been the subject of numerous citizen complaints
Published on November 8, 2000, Page 1C, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL ODOR OVERLOOKED//FIRM, OFFICIALS RUSHED ST. PAUL FACILITY
Source: Dennis Lien, Murali Balaji and Charles Laszewski Staff Writers
Already stung by the closing of one brewery, government and business leaders were scrambling three years ago to save the old Schmidt Brewery on West Seventh Street near downtown St. Paul from a similar fate.Their solution - to convert part of the brewery into Minnesota's only urban ethanol plant - baffled rural observers who have an intimate knowledge of such plants and one of their all-too-common consequences: odor.Now, as noxious odors from the Gopher State Ethanol plant waft
Published on November 5, 2000, Page 1A, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL COMPLAINTS PUT FOCUS ON NUISANCE PROCESS//DETERMINATION COULD CLEAR WAY FASTER RESOLUTION
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
As St. Paul grapples with residents' frustrations over the odor emissions of the Gopher State Ethanol plant, a possible nuisance declaration could lead to an accelerated resolution of the problem.Wednesday's heated public meeting among officials from the city and the ethanol plant and some 400 residents affected by the plant's odor emissions ended with City Attorney Clayton Robinson promising to follow through if the plant is found to be a public nuisance.The plant has
Published on October 21, 2000, Page 3B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
400 PACK ETHANOL PLANT HEARING//RESIDENTS SEEK ODOR RELIEF
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
Before a packed audience, officials from the city of St. Paul and the embattled Gopher State Ethanol plant were taken to task Wednesday evening by residents of the West End and surrounding areas for their alleged failure to solve the plant's odor emissions.More than 400 people came to Monroe Community School for the public hearing, which was called by the City Council to determine whether to proceed with a possible nuisance action against the West Seventh Street ethanol plant. The
Published on October 19, 2000, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT PLEDGES END TO ODORS BY SPRING//ANNOUNCEMENT COMES A DAY BEFORE HEARING
Source: Murali Balaji Staff Writer
Officials from the Gopher State Ethanol plant said Tuesday they intend to solve their odor problems - which have rattled area residents over the past few months - by spring. The announcement came a day before a potentially heated public meeting among the St. Paul City Council, the West Seventh Street plant and concerned neighbors opposed to the plant's operation.Jack Lee, the president of Minnesota Brewing Co. and Gopher State Ethanol, said he was optimistic that a
Published on October 18, 2000, Page 2B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
UNDER SIEGE//WEST SEVENTH STREET RESIDENTS WHO HAVE VOICED COMPLAINTS ABOUT A NEW ETHANOL PLANT HAVE A FRESH IRRITATION IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD: A PROPOSAL FOR A BUSWAY OR LIGHT-RAIL LINE FROM DOWNTOWN ST. PAUL TO THE MALL OF AMERICA.
Source: Toni Coleman, Staff Writer
To Therese Goddard, it seems, her West Seventh Street neighborhood in St. Paul is under full-scale attack.The dreadful smell emanating from the new Gopher State Ethanol plant is tantamount to chemical warfare, she says, and the busway or light-rail line proposed for West Seventh seems like an artillery invasion.``If you really wanted to destroy a neighborhood, you couldn't have picked a better thing,'' says Goddard, a longtime resident who works as a buyer and salesperson
Published on October 8, 2000, Page 2B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL PLANT'S TEST OF `SCRUBBER' SHOWS PROMISE//CITY, COMPANY HOPEFUL ABOUT FIX FOR ODOR PROBLEM
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
Officials from St. Paul and the Gopher State Ethanol plant say they are pleased with the test results of a ``scrubber'' designed to reduce foul-smelling emissions, an indication that the plant could be a step closer to solving the odor problem that has plagued parts of the city for months.The new ethanol plant, at Minnesota Brewing Co. on West Seventh Street, has been the target of neighbors' protests since May because of the widespread smell. The odor, linked to the
Published on October 6, 2000, Page 3B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
MAYOR URGING PATIENCE OVER ETHANOL PLANT//ODOR COMPLAINTS NEED FIX OTHER THAN CLOSING THE FACILITY
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
FYIThe St. Paul City Council will hold a public hearing on the Gopher State Ethanol plant at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at Monroe Community School on Palace Avenue.St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman, addressing neighborhood complaints about the new ethanol plant in the West Seventh Street area, Thursday ruled out some activists' calls for shutting down the facility while the company tries to find a solution to odor problems.Such a step, the mayor said, is not an option because of the
Published on September 29, 2000, Page 3B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
COUNCIL WRESTLES WITH ETHNOL COMPLAINTS
Source: Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
As St. Paul City Council members continued to grapple Wednesday with neighborhood complaints about odors from the Gopher State Ethanol plant, a state senator from the city's West Side - and a vocal opponent of the plant - offered her ideas for addressing the problem.In a letter to the council, DFL Sen. Sandy Pappas chided the council for telling West Seventh Street neighbors and other nearby residents that there was little the city could do to regulate the first urban ethanol plant in
Published on September 28, 2000, Page 3C, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
ETHANOL ODOR DEFIES SOLUTION//SOME RESIDENTS SAY IT'S MAKING THEM SICK. OTHERS DON'T MIND IT. EITHER WAY, THE SMELL EMANATING FROM THE ETHANOL PLANT ON ST. PAUL'S WEST SEVENTH STREET IS DIVIDING THE COMMUNITY.
Source: Murali Balaji Staff Writer
When David Owens moved to St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood last year, the Irish immigrant hoped to end years of moving around the globe and finally call this home.Things were beginning to look that way, he said, until the stench arrived last spring and immediately divided the community.His wife and four children began to complain of headaches and insomnia soon after the May opening of the Gopher State Ethanol Plant, located at Minnesota Brewing Co. on West Seventh
Published on September 27, 2000, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
EXPERT: ODORS INEVITABLE WITH ETHANOL PRODUCTION
Source: - Murali Balaji, Staff Writer
Barring the unlikely closing of the Gopher State Ethanol Plant, residents of the West Seventh Street neighborhood and surrounding areas will have to learn to cope with some level of unpleasant odors, experts say.Despite efforts by Minnesota Brewing Co. to mitigate the smell, experts involved in mediating a solution between the St. Paul brewery and area residents concede that the ethanol-making process likely will never be odor-free.Michael Wang, a scientist for Argonne National
Published on September 27, 2000, Page 2B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
MAYOR IS ASKED TO HELP ON ODOR ISSUE
Source: - CHARLES LASZEWSKI, STAFF WRITER
Amid shouts of protest from half a dozen sign-carrying neighbors, the St. Paul City Council passed a resolution Wednesday requesting the mayor to talk to state agencies to resolve the odor problems at the Gopher State Ethanol Plant.The plant, at the Minnesota Brewing Co. brewery on West Seventh Street, has generated numerous complaints from neighbors and city residents as far away as Highland Park and Frogtown since it began turning corn into ethanol back in April.Dan Smith of the
Published on September 14, 2000, Page 3B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
NEIGHBORS RALLY AGAINST ETHANOL PLANT ODORS//COMPANY SAYS IT'S WORKING ON WAYS TO SOLVE PROBLEM
Source: Murali Balaji Staff Writer
Months of frustration over emissions led to a neighborhood protest Monday afternoon outside the new Gopher State Ethanol Plant on West Seventh Street in St. Paul.The protest drew more than 100 people to hear speakers decry the Minnesota Brewing Co.'s ethanol plant, which the demonstrators claim often exudes a nauseating stench that has hurt the neighborhood's quality of life.The demonstrators, who came from as far away as the Midway area, claim the strong smell is harming the
Published on September 12, 2000, Page 2B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
THEATER FOE CRITICIZED AS HYPOCRITE//HIS BUSINESS FAULTED AS NEIGHBORHOOD NUISANCE
Source: Don Boxmeyer, Staff Columnist
A well-known industrialist and Bloomington resident is among the outspoken opponents who have complained that a proposed Burnsville amphitheater would be a noisy nuisance to his community.Ironically enough, the Bloomingtonian is also chairman of the board of the new ethanol plant that has caused a neighborhood uproar as a noisy nuisance since it opened in April in St. Paul.That Bloomington resident would be Bruce Hendry, top honcho at Minnesota Brewing Co. and Gopher State Ethanol on
Published on August 23, 2000, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
COMPANY, COMMUNITY PANEL WILL TARGET ETHANOL PLANT CONCERNS//ODORS, NOISE ARE PLAGUING ST. PAUL'S WEST 7TH STREET
Source: CHARLES LASZEWSKI, STAFF WRITER
City officials held out little hope Wednesday for a quick solution to widespread neighborhood complaints about the new Gopher State Ethanol Plant, which opened in the West Seventh Street area last spring.But, they noted, both city and company officials will continue to address concerns about strong odors and loud noises at what has been called the first urban ethanol plant in the nation.City officials said Wednesday that the noise coming from the plant is within the required daytime
Published on August 17, 2000, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
EQUIPMENT IS EXPECTED TO HALT ETHANOL ODORS//BUT SOME NEIGHBORS SAY OTHER PROBLEMS ALSO MUST BE FIXED
Source: Nguyen Hai Van, Staff Writer By next week, citizens in St. Paul's West Seventh Street neighborhood may be able to breathe easier.In response to complaints from many residents, the Minnesota Brewing Co. is installing new equipment to get rid of strong odors from its new ethanol plant, according to Jack Lee, president of the brewery and Gopher State Ethanol.The new scrubber equipment, which should be installed by Monday, will capture nearly 99 percent of emissions, he said.The smell comes from carbon
Published on July 7, 2000, Page 3B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
BREWERY, ETHANOL PLANT GIVE NEIGHBORS A NOSEFUL//WEST SEVENTH RESIDENTS SAY SMELL NOW WORSE
Source: DON BOXMEYER, STAFF COLUMNIST
To Nikki Glaser, the stench emanating from the St. Paul brewery and its new ethanol plant is worse than rotting food. For Jack Lee, who runs the brewery and ethanol plant, the aroma is like freshly baked bread.``To me,'' says Jack, president of Minnesota Brewing and Gopher State Ethanol, ``that's a great smell.''But to an increasing number of neighbors around his brewery and ethanol plant on West Seventh Street, the aroma - and the noise - from the new ethanol
Published on May 27, 2000, Page 1B, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
MINNESOTA BREWING EARNINGS RISE
Source: Lee Egerstrom, Staff Writer
Minnesota Brewing reported better financial results on Tuesday as second-quarter earnings rose 5 percent, or 4 cents per share, while the St. Paul brewer made plans to celebrate its expansion into the motor ethanol production industry.Construction of part of Minnesota Brewing's surplus production capacity to making ethanol is to begin today. Ethanol production, which is to come on line next April, involves a joint venture business in which Minnesota Brewing holds a 28 percent
Published on August 11, 1999, Page 7D, St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)