Back to home page
Star Tribune News Section:
This section shows you to many stories in which Gopher State Ethanol is mentioned.
Gopher ethanol plant closes
Tony Kennedy, Star Tribune
May 14, 2004
The taxpayer-subsidized neighborhood ethanol plant that St. Paul citizens have railed against for more than three years as a stinking nuisance will shut down today after falling into serious financial trouble
Gopher State emissions miss targets
Published on January 9, 2004
By Curt Brown Staff Writer
St. Paul's Gopher State Ethanol plant, a frequent source of West End neighborhood complaints, must reduce odors considerably if it hopes to comply with agreed-upon emissions standards by a May deadline. Quarterly odor tests, conducted last October and November, showed that the plant failed to meet seven of nine emissions targets. Last fall, Gopher State settled a lawsuit brought by the City of St. Paul. The deal included emissions targets that neither side expected to be
St. Paul residents to air ethanol plant concerns
Published on December 2, 2003
By Jackie Crosby Staff Writer
St. Paul residents concerned about pollution from the Gopher State Ethanol plant will have a chance to ask questions and air grievances with state officials at a public meeting tonight. The forum is a chance for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to listen to residents as it considers Gopher State's air-quality permit application, which is up for renewal after five years. Gopher State is the only urban ethanol plant in the country and is one of 14
St. Paul ratifies agreement on ethanol plant Deal sets odor standards for Gopher State
Published on September 25, 2003
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
Gopher State Ethanol must take steps designed to make its plant emissions practically odorless, under a deal ratified Wednesday by the St. Paul City Council. The agreement between the firm and nearby residents, which grew out of the city's lawsuit last spring against Gopher State, will now take the form of a court order and be implemented as quickly as possible, said Eric Larson, the assistant city attorney who has handled the long-running dispute for St. Paul.
Neighbors show qualified support for ethanol deal
St. Paul firm would agree to emissions plan
Published on September 19, 2003
By Heron Marquez Estrada Staff Writer
Neighbors of the Gopher State Ethanol plant in St. Paul seem willing to pinch their noses - for now - and accept an agreement that calls on the company to reduce smells and noise at the former brewery. The agreement was reached this week, and it is the latest twist in a three-year battle by neighbors to shut the plant down because of what they claim are foul odors and excessive noise. About 75 neighborhood residents attended a meeting Thursday night at St. James
Decision on Gopher State plant tabled for week
Published on September 18, 2003
By Lourdes Medrano Leslie Staff Writer
The St. Paul City Council postponed its vote Wednesday on a proposed agreement requiring the Gopher State Ethanol plant to work diligently toward reducing odors or face the consequences in court. The agreement, which the council will take up next week, would settle a suit that the city filed against the plant last year with the goal of shutting it down. The plant on W. 7th Street has been the source of complaints about odors and noise since it opened three years ago.
Ethanol plant agrees to odor plan If the St. Paul City Council ratifies the settlement today, Gopher State would undergo frequent testing for odors and pay fines if it fails to comply.
Published on September 17, 2003
By Lourdes Medrano Leslie Staff Writer
After lengthy negotiations, Gopher State Ethanol in St. Paul has agreed to follow a plan to detect and reduce the odors that have plagued the W. 7th Street neighborhood for three years and spurred a legal battle with the city. If the City Council today approves the proposal agreed to by the company, the city and nearby residents, Gopher State would have to perform frequent tests with the aim of achieving a ``reasonable odor condition'' in surrounding neighborhoods.
Ethanol plant is accused of defaulting
Published on September 4, 2003
By Tony Kennedy Staff Writer
The ethanol plant near downtown St. Paul that has been in trouble for creating odor and noise is accused of defaulting on the private construction loan that helped create the facility. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court, Harris Companies of St. Paul threatened Gopher State Ethanol with foreclosure and demanded a court judgment for $2.85 million. Harris has a lien against the plant property on West 7th Street. Officials who operate Gopher
Fire damages ethanol plant in St. Paul
Published on July 26, 2003
By Terry Collins Staff Writer
A firefighter was hospitalized after a fire at the Gopher State Ethanol plant in St. Paul Friday night. He was listed in stable condition at Regions Hospital with shortness of breath, said Deputy Chief Timothy Verros. The fire, the third since March 2002, started when a piece of insulation fell into a heated area, setting the roof on fire, Verros said. About 60 firefighters worked the blaze by ripping parts of the roof off, Verros said. He estimated
Judge agrees to delay ruling in St. Paul ethanol plant suit
Published on July 15, 2003
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
In a sign that St. Paul may be close to negotiating a settlement of odor complaints involving the Gopher State Ethanol plant, a Ramsey County judge has agreed to delay ruling in a suit brought by the city against the plant. Both sides asked Friday that Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman delay issuing his order in the public nuisance case in which the city sought to force the plant to either take the odor out of its emissions or to close down. Residents near the W. 7th
St. Paul ethanol plant agrees to new controls
Published on May 23, 2003
By Paul Gustafson Staff Writer
Gopher State Ethanol has agreed to strengthen air pollution controls at its St. Paul plant under an amended civil settlement with state and federal officials that was announced Thursday. Under the amendments, Gopher State must install an air filtering device called a baghouse that will increase control of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds. The plant also will not be allowed to produce wet corn mash, a byproduct used for animal feed, except when there
Ethanol plant's nuisance case goes to jury
Published on May 20, 2003
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
A Ramsey County jury began the task Monday of deciding whether Gopher State Ethanol's odor problems constitute a public nuisance. The jury heard closing arguments from Gopher State and the city of St. Paul, which is seeking to have the three-year-old ethanol plant shut down until it can cleanse its emissions of the acrid smell complained about by neighbors. Jurors will resume deliberations this morning. The case is St. Paul's latest effort to
St. Paul, Gopher State face off City wants shutdown until odor controlled
Published on May 12, 2003
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
In one corner is Gopher State Ethanol, a three-year-old business on W. 7th Street in St. Paul that employs 34 people and is the only thing standing between the city and another abandoned brewery complex. In the opposite corner is the city itself, hoping to rescue residents near the plant from a fourth consecutive summer of nose-curling, sometimes stomach-turning plant fumes. Round 3 begins today in the legal match between St. Paul and Gopher State as the city goes to
Ethanol plant neighbors wants subsidies stopped Gopher State would probably close, CEO says
Published on April 2, 2003
By Curt Brown Staff Writer
A busload of angry St. Paul residents jammed a state Senate committee hearing Tuesday to ask members to strip state subsidies from the Gopher State Ethanol plant, which they say has crippled their W. 7th Street neighborhood with odor and noise problems. But the chief executive of the plant called the bill a discriminatory example of ``industrial profiling'' and said that without state aid, the plant would probably have to close. The bill, sponsored by Sen.
St. Paul City Council fends off mayor's veto
Published on March 20, 2003
By Mary Lynn Smith Staff Writer
The St. Paul City Council stood its ground Wednesday by overriding Mayor Randy Kelly's veto of a resolution supporting legislation that would cut state aid to the Gopher State Ethanol plant. ``It's unfortunate the council chose to be controversial,'' Deputy Mayor Dennis Flaherty said of the council's 6-1 vote. ``Today was an in-your-face move,'' he said. Flaherty said the mayor vetoed the resolution because the council bundled
St. Paul mayor, council spar over linking 2 issues
Published on March 18, 2003
By Lourdes Medrano Leslie Staff Writer
St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly and the City Council are butting heads over a resolution that council members recently passed in support of two separate matters working their way through the Legislature. Although both sides oppose a bill that would remove sexual orientation as a protected class under the state's Human Rights Act, they don't agree on efforts to cut state aid for urban ethanol plants. The latter would affect St. Paul's Gopher State Ethanol plant.
Last call for ethanol? St. Paul's Gopher State Ethanol plant - which has been under fire for health, noise and pollution issues - is under renewed attack from various levels of government.
Published on March 1, 2003
By Curt Brown Staff Writer
Subsidies have been pulled. Bills have been introduced to halt future state aid. And a spring trial is scheduled to determine whether St. Paul's Gopher State Ethanol plant lives or dies. From distinct vantage points, Rose Gunness and Ethan Trepp shake their heads in frustration. They are two of the people at the vortex of a complex dispute about renewable energy, jobs, public health and the quality of life on the West End - one of St. Paul's oldest
Judge dismisses effort to close ethanol plant
Published on February 12, 2003
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
A Ramsey County district judge on Thursday dismissed St. Paul's latest attempt to shut down the Gopher State Ethanol plant, which has been the source of neighbors' noise and odor complaints for nearly three years. The city had tried to use the plant's sickly-sweet odor as the basis for closing it, under the state's environmental rights act. It also sought to compel the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to stop the plant from operating until the odor
Six St. Paul legislators seek to end subsidies to Gopher State Ethanol
Published on January 24, 2003
By Conrad deFiebre Staff Writer
Six St. Paul legislators called Thursday for an end to state payments to the Gopher State Ethanol plant in the West End neighborhood, where for nearly three years residents have complained of illnesses they say are caused by the plant's noise and odors. Lisa Shaffer, who bought a home two blocks from the century-old Jacob Schmidt Brewery shortly before it started making ethanol, said at a State Capitol news conference that headaches, nausea and asthma she believes are
Ethanol backers unite, gain ground Legislators worked to trim proposed cuts to subsidies after corn farmers and the industry complained.
Published on January 17, 2003
By Conrad deFiebre Staff Writer
As scores of farmers in feed caps and work boots descended on the State Capitol, legislators worked quickly Thursday to assure continued state funding for corn-belt ethanol plants that Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed cutting off. A Senate committee, with little debate and no dissenting votes, approved maintaining full payments to all eligible Minnesota ethanol plants except the one in St. Paul, which is locked in controversy with its West End neighbors over noise and odors.
Feds hear residents' concerns on ethanol plant They discuss Gopher State agreement on emissions
Published on January 9, 2003
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
In an unusual meeting with federal officials, a handful of St. Paul residents voiced concerns Wednesday night that Gopher State Ethanol emissions will continue to choke their neighborhood despite a recent agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce them. ``You have to understand, we're just not very trusting of this outfit [Gopher State] to remain in compliance'' with emission standards, said Andy Driscoll, a member of the ad hoc neighborhood
EPA move doesn't impress St. Paulites, City Council
Published on October 3, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
Dori Ullman is glad that the campaign she and other West 7th Street neighbors have waged against Gopher State Ethanol for two years has caused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take a tougher stand against Minnesota ethanol producers. But it's not going to clear the St. Paul plant's sickly sweet odor anytime soon, she said Wednesday after learning of the EPA's new requirements for emission-reducing equipment at 12 plants around the state. For
Ethanol plants OK new rules 12 producers agree to reduce emissions in settlement hailed as model for nation
Published on October 3, 2002
By Tom Meersman Staff Writer
Twelve Minnesota ethanol producers will each invest about $2 million for equipment to reduce air emissions, according to settlements announced Wednesday that federal officials said will be a model for ethanol plants across the nation. ``These are the first of their kind in the country, but they won't be the last,'' said Tom Skinner, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency's regional office in Chicago. The agreements are the result of
Ethanol plant can stay open A judge agrees that the controversial facility has been noisy, but he rejected St. Paul's effort to close it.
Published on September 28, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
A Ramsey County district judge on Friday rejected St. Paul's efforts to close the controversial Gopher State Ethanol plant. Although Judge Dale Lindman denied the city's request for a temporary restraining order, he also ruled in a separate action that Gopher State exceeded agreed-upon noise levels at least four times over the summer. He warned that each additional violation measured by the city will cost the company $1,500 for testing expenses. Neighbors
St. Paul Council seeks ethanol plant closure City says odors have worsened since a thermal oxidizer broke last month.
Published on September 24, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere Curt Brown Staff Writers
Less than a year after it settled its first suit against Gopher State Ethanol, the city of St. Paul went back to court Monday, seeking to shut down the plant ``to ensure elimination of the odor public nuisance.'' The city's complaint alleges that smelly plant emissions have become worse since Gopher State's thermal oxidizer broke down last month. The odor has made nearby residents nauseated and sleepless and caused them headaches and breathing
St. Paul council seeking closure of ethanol plant
Published on September 19, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
St. Paul City Attorney Manuel Cervantes will seek a temporary restraining order to shut down the Gopher State Ethanol plant, following a unanimous request Wednesday by the City Council. Council members expressed frustration that the plant has continued to operate despite the breakdown last month of its thermal oxidizer, which was installed to rid emissions of odor. Council Member Chris Coleman, who sponsored the resolution, said his office has received an
Gopher State Ethanol closing sought Council member irked by odor-fighting equipment being down for a month.
Published on September 18, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
St. Paul City Council Member Chris Coleman wants the city to seek an injunction to close the Gopher State Ethanol plant, after learning Tuesday that its thermal oxidizer has been out of commission for a month. The company installed the $1.2 million oxidizer last year to eliminate odor, but neighborhood complaints to City Hall have increased in number and volume this summer. Coleman, who called upon Gopher State last month to close the plant until odor issues are
12 ethanol plants face potential fines Emissions under federal scrutiny
Published on August 25, 2002
By Tom Meersman Staff Writer
State and federal pollution control authorities are negotiating with a dozen Minnesota ethanol plant managers to settle alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, according to regulators and industry officials involved in the process. Jim Warner, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) air quality director, declined to give details about the discussions. But he added, ``Any time we're talking enforcement, we're potentially talking about penalties.''
Ethanol plant is under fire again Odors and noise persist despite the brewery's closure, St. Paul officials say. The company denies the allegations.
Published on August 9, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
Two months after it paid court fines for violating noise standards, the Gopher State Ethanol plant in St. Paul is under fire again from city officials for noise and odor problems. City Council Member Chris Coleman on Thursday called on Gopher State Chairman Bruce Hendry to suspend operations at the plant until it finds a way to stop emitting the sickly sweet smell. And the city attorney's office filed a motion in Ramsey County District Court on Tuesday seeking a
Company, mayor hope brewery will reopen
Published on June 26, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
Minnesota Brewing Co. and St. Paul officials are still holding out hope of finding a buyer or investors to reopen the W. 7th Street brewery that closed Monday. Jim Freeman, the firm's CEO, thinks it's possible, and an outside brewer even toured the facility Tuesday, said Minnesota Brewing spokeswoman Lisa Nasseff. Moreover, Mayor Randy Kelly is eager to help find financing and private investors interested in reopening the brewery and returning laid off
Fire again strikes West 7th ethanol plant
Published on June 5, 2002
By HerÂon MÂarquez Estrada Staff Writer
RSEC: Fire broke out Tuesday morning in the same grain-drying unit at the Gopher State Ethanol plant that was damaged by a blaze in March, briefly closing the plant and shutting down a stretch of St. Paul's W. 7th Street during rush hour. No injuries were reported, and damage was estimated at $20,000, said Fire Department spokesman Ted Vanderbeek. The fire started about 7:15 a.m. The plant's fire-suppression system, like last time, doused the flames. West 7th was
Ethanol plant fined for noise violations
Published on May 23, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman fined Gopher State Ethanol $5,000 Wednesday for twice violating noise standards that the plant accepted in settling a suit with the city of St. Paul. But Lindman said that other alleged noise violations were not so clear-cut. He cited confusion over how to measure background noise not coming from the plant and ordered Gopher State and the city to arrive at a method to adjust future readings to account for background noise. Traffic on W.
Ethanol plant fined for noise violations
Published on May 23, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
RSEC: Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman fined Gopher State Ethanol $5,000 Wednesday for twice violating noise standards that the plant accepted in settling a suit with the city of St. Paul. But Lindman said that other alleged noise violations were not so clear-cut. He cited confusion over how to measure background noise not coming from the plant and ordered Gopher State and the city to arrive at a method to adjust future readings to account for background noise. Traffic on W.
Gopher State emissions OK, state says
Published on May 9, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Emissions from St. Paul's Gopher State Ethanol plant may be physically irritating but apparently do not pose a health threat to nearby residents, according to a report released Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Health. The report recommends a series of steps Gopher State should take in the next few years to protect neighbors from contaminants, including more testing of its pollution control equipment and identifying gases that escape through leaking valves and
Suit against ethanol plant settled
Published on April 18, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
A group of St. Paul residents has settled its lawsuit against the Gopher State Ethanol plant and two affiliated companies after both sides agreed on measures to reduce the plant's smelly emissions. The settlement, reached Tuesday, was ratified Wednesday with a unanimous St. Paul City Council vote. At the same time, the council, which settled the city's own suit against Gopher State and Minnesota Brewing last December, approved a settlement of a suit against a
St. Paul council deadlocks on ethanol plant measures
Published on March 28, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
The St. Paul City Council deadlocked Wednesday on efforts to hasten an end to repugnant odor and noise from the Gopher State Ethanol plant in the W. 7th Street area. The inaction leaves the plant free to continue operations at least until April 30, the deadline established by the settlement of a city lawsuit against it. Neighbors who have been fighting the plant for several years also are reportedly near settlement of a separate suit against Gopher State and had hoped the council
Ethanol plant cleared to resume operations
Published on March 26, 2002
By Heron Marquez Estrada Staff Writer
The Gopher State Ethanol plant is expected to reopen today after being closed during the weekend following a fire in a grain-drying unit. St. Paul Deputy Mayor Dennis Flaherty said inspections Saturday and Monday found what he described as minor problems at the plant. A hazardous materials inspection was conducted by the Fire Department Saturday and found no problems. Building inspectors went through the plant Monday. They ordered that a duct in the grain dryer be
Safety review set after St. Paul ethanol plant fire
Published on March 23, 2002
By Heron Marquez Estrada Staff Writer
The Gopher State Ethanol plant in St. Paul will be closed at least through Monday pending safety inspections ordered after a fire that broke out Friday morning in one of the facility's grain-drying units. No one was injured and no major damage was done to the plant, at 882 W. 7th St. Traffic on W. 7th was shut down for almost two hours during the morning rush hour, the Fire Department reported. The plant closure will include a hazardous materials inspection by the
Ethanol frustrations boil over at hearing
Published on March 21, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere Staff Writer
Frustration over ongoing problems at the Gopher State Ethanol plant spilled into the St. Paul City Council chambers Wednesday as a large contingent of plant neighbors urged the council to strictly enforce court mandates for lower noise and odor levels. Neighbors, some of whom are suing the plant themselves, have complained about the West End plant since it began ethanol production in April 2000. The city settled its own suit against the plant in December when Gopher State and its
Minnesota Brewing files for bankruptcy
Published on February 22, 2002
By Tony Kennedy; Staff Writer
The parent company of Minnesota's largest brewery filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday to save itself from insolvency and debt collectors. Jack Lee, president and CEO of MBC Holdings Inc., the parent company of Minnesota Brewing Co., said a Chapter 11 filing was the best option after he was unable to get a subsidy from the city of St. Paul for a private refinancing of the brewery. The St. Paul-based maker of Grain Belt beer lost $3 million last year and has
St. Paul to act if ethanol plant fails noise test
Published on February 14, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
The St. Paul city attorney's office will seek a contempt citation against Minnesota Brewing Co. if its ethanol plant fails a March 1 noise test, the City Council was told Wednesday. St. Paul Assistant City Attorney Eric Larson said that Minnesota Brewing and its affiliate, Gopher State Ethanol, won't be given more time to reduce noise if it fails to get down to 50 decibels in two weeks. "If they aren't complying, believe me . . . the only question
St. Paul brewery remains open for now
Published on February 2, 2002
By Tony Kennedy; Staff Writer
Production at Minnesota Brewing Co. will continue despite the collapse of a proposed city bailout plan that the brewery's majority shareholder said was necessary to avoid a shutdown. On Tuesday, majority shareholder Bruce Hendry said St. Paul would lose all 180 to 225 jobs at the brewery if the city didn't guarantee repayment of a $2 million bank loan needed to save Minnesota Brewing from financial ruin. "If they say they don't want to do it,
St. Paul officials won't back brewery loan
Published on January 31, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
St. Paul won't guarantee a $2 million loan that Minnesota Brewing Co. officials claim is needed to keep the financially shaky company in business, Mayor Randy Kelly and Council Member Chris Coleman said Wednesday. However, the city officials told principal owner Bruce Hendry that they will help him find financing in the next two months if a number of conditions are met, including that the firm follow the terms of a court order requiring noise and odor improvements at its
Judge: Ethanol plant isn't in violation
Published on January 30, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman denied a motion Tuesday to find Minnesota Brewing Co. and Gopher State Ethanol in contempt of court over noise issues, ruling that the companies so far have met mandates specified in a court order last month. But Lindman told Minnesota Brewing attorney Tom Fabel to warn his clients "that they are living on borrowed time" and that he won't hesitate to impose sanctions if warranted. "The order has teeth, and we
Brewery seeks city help
Published on January 30, 2002
By Tony Kennedy; Staff Writer
St. Paul would lose its second brewery in five years if the city doesn't guarantee repayment of a $2 million bank loan needed to save Minnesota Brewing Co. from financial ruin, the brewery's majority shareholder said Tuesday. "If they say they don't want to do it, we'll just close her down," said Bruce Hendry, the investor who saved the West 7th Street beer plant from demolition in 1991. Despite the addition two years ago of an ethanol plant
For some, ethanol plant is a daily issue
Published on January 22, 2002
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Lisa Shaffer still remembers the morning in the spring of 2000 when she woke up, turned to her husband and said, "What is that noise?" She learned that the Minnesota Brewing Co. plant two blocks away had started making ethanol, a gasoline additive whose production from corn created a sweet, yeasty smell that hung over Shaffer's West End neighborhood in St. Paul. Two years, several court appearances and hundreds of thousands of dollars in pollution
St. Paul OKs settling suit between city, Gopher State Ethanol Plant
Published on December 27, 2001
By Lourdes Medrano Leslie; Staff Writer
The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday voted to settle a lawsuit between the city and the Gopher State Ethanol Plant, the source of many neighborhood complaints about noise and odor on W. 7th Street. On a 6-1 vote, the council approved a resolution that outlines terms for the out-of-court settlement. The agreement sets up concrete steps and deadlines for all the parties involved to address the problems. It also allows the city to do odor emissions testing. Gopher State
Judge won't force ethanol plant to close - for now
Published on December 8, 2001
By Curt Brown; Staff Writer
An embattled St. Paul ethanol plant will remain open at least for now, despite more than a year of neighborhood complaints about noise and odor problems. Ramsey County District Judge Dale Lindman denied a request Friday to temporarily close the Gopher State Ethanol plant on W. 7th Street. The city attorney's office and a neighborhood group sought the injunction under city nuisance laws. Saying he had to balance competing interests, Lindman said shutting down the
Ethanol plant issues sent to a mediator
Published on October 11, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Parties in the yearlong struggle to end noise and odor problems at St. Paul's Gopher State Ethanol plant have agreed to mediation in hopes of finding a solution. The mediator, who has not yet been selected, will try to settle a civil suit filed by the city of St. Paul against Gopher State and its affiliated companies, Minnesota Brewing and MG-CO2. In addition to representatives of the city and the company, mediation sessions also will include an attorney
St. Paul Council favors ethanol plant ultimatum
Published on September 6, 2001
By Curt Brown; Staff Writer
Any deal to settle a lawsuit between St. Paul and a year-old ethanol plant on the West End should include provisions to close it if noise and odor problems continue after Oct. 15, the City Council voted Wednesday. On a 6-1 vote, the council approved a seven-point resolution it wants City Attorney Clayton Robinson to use as a framework for any out-of-court settlement. Gopher State Ethanol attorney Tom Fabel said that the "laundry list" contains no surprises and
St. Paul to discuss ethanol case in public
Published on August 23, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
St. Paul officials agreed Wednesday to talk about city strategies to end noise and odor problems bedeviling neighbors near the Gopher State Ethanol plant in a public meeting early next month. St. Paul dismissed a criminal complaint alleging noise-standard violations against Gopher State in July, disappointing neighbors who say the problem isn't solved and surprising council members who said they weren't consulted. By discussing their requirements in public on
Citizens group seeks to join suit against ethanol plant
Published on August 22, 2001
By Curt Brown; Staff Writer
Fearing that the city of St. Paul is about to settle its lawsuit against Gopher State Ethanol, a newly formed citizens group took legal action Tuesday to intervene in the yearlong feud. The dispute, which has pitted neighbors complaining about noise and odor against a plant that provides more than 250 jobs, is scheduled to be discussed at a closed City Council meeting today. Attorney Michael Unger, representing the Citizens Alliance for a Safe Environment (CASE), filed motions for
Frustrations boil up over strategy on ethanol plant
Published on August 9, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
The anger and frustration of St. Paul neighbors long bedeviled by noise and odor at Gopher State Ethanol swept into City Hall Wednesday, as council members clashed with City Attorney Clayton Robinson over the city's strategy to resolve problems at the plant. The confrontation followed the accidental release of about 8,000 gallons of ammonia from Minnesota Brewing, Gopher State's parent company, on Tuesday evening. About 20 people, most of them workers, were
Ethanol plant won't seek noise variance
Published on July 28, 2001
By Maria Elena Baca; Staff Writer
Gopher State Ethanol withdrew its application for a noise variance Friday and promised to continue to work to bring its St. Paul plant into compliance with city noise ordinances. The company had applied for the variance earlier this week, seeking to raise its legal noise level to 63 decibels from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. That's 8 decibels above the legal nighttime limit for a residential area. City Council Member Chris Coleman said Friday night that Gopher State President
Council member blasts ethanol plant deal
Published on July 27, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
St. Paul City Council Member Chris Coleman Thursday criticized the city's recent decision to dismiss its complaint against the Gopher State Ethanol plant for violating noise rules. "We have said and promised the neighborhood that we would not let up until the issue was resolved, and we let up," he said. "Had I been consulted, I would have objected vehemently." Coleman, who returned recently from vacation, made clear his objections Thursday after
St. Paul dismisses complaint over ethanol plant
Published on July 19, 2001
By Paul Gustafson; Staff Writer
The city of St. Paul dismissed Tuesday a criminal complaint charging the Gopher State Ethanol plant, Minnesota Brewing Co. and their jointly owned carbon-dioxide manufacturing venture called MG-CO2 with violating state and city noise standards. The dismissal was part of an agreement that calls for each of the three companies to pay the city $13,000 in restitution for its enforcement action, City Attorney Clayton Robinson said. City officials agreed to dismiss the
Ethanol debate is in the air
Published on July 8, 2001
By Tom Meersman; Staff Writer
When Steve Roessler walks onto the deck of his hilltop home in southeastern Minnesota, he views the Root River valley with its cornfields and woods in full summer foliage, broken by a two-lane road and an occasional farmhouse. He also watches a plume of smoke rising from a lone smokestack about 2 miles away and is glad the wind isn't blowing it in his direction. "When it hits here, it's like my throat slams shut," said Roessler, who works out of his
A change in the air near ethanol plant?
Published on July 6, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Gopher State Ethanol's new odor-reduction equipment seems to be doing its job, but plant neighbors and St. Paul officials are withholding final judgment until they can be sure the fix is permanent. Until then, and until plant noise is muffled, the city will continue to hold the threat of litigation over Gopher State, and neighbors will remain vigilant in reporting infractions. Prompting everyone to take a second whiff was Thursday's announcement by Gopher State
St. Paul gets more aggressive on ethanol plant
Published on May 17, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
St. Paul officials plan to increase the legal pressure on the Gopher State Ethanol plant, asking a judge to order it to reduce noise levels. City Attorney Clayton Robinson told the City Council Wednesday that his staff will draft the necessary papers seeking temporary and permanent injunctions against the W. 7th Street plant, which has drawn scores of neighborhood complaints for its odor and noise since beginning ethanol production last year. He said he hopes to file the
Study says ethanol plant's oxidizer won't cure odor woes
Published on May 16, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
A city-sponsored study finished last month concludes that equipment intended to improve the air around St. Paul's Gopher State Ethanol plant will remove only two-thirds of the yeasty odor that has plagued residents for more than a year. Jack Lee, CEO of Minnesota Brewing, Gopher State's parent company, said that he hasn't seen the study and will continue with plans to have the $1.2 million thermal oxidizer in operation by the end of June. But City Council
St. Paul to sue ethanol plant again, citing noise violations
Published on May 3, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Gopher State Ethanol and its affiliated carbon dioxide recovery plant are so noisy that it's criminal, contends St. Paul City Attorney Clayton Robinson. In a complaint to be filed today in Ramsey County District Court, Robinson accuses Gopher State, a joint venture known as MG-CO2 and parent company Minnesota Brewing with 25 misdemeanor counts of violating state and city noise standards during the past eight weeks. It's the second time in three months that the
Aid again blocked for St. Paul ethanol odor-eater
Published on May 2, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
The future of St. Paul's bedeviled Gopher State Ethanol plant remained murky Tuesday, after a top legislative leader again blocked state aid for odor control equipment at the plant. Gopher State officials had hoped for a state grant of up to $400,000 to help cover the $1.2 million cost of a thermal oxidizer, which they expect will finally eliminate the plant's sickly sweet odor. But Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, DFL-Erskine, blocked the move for the second
St. Paul ethanol plant fined
Published on April 18, 2001
By Curt Brown; Staff Writer
St. Paul's Gopher State ethanol plant has been fined $45,000 for violating nighttime noise standards and failing to install pollution monitoring equipment before beginning operations. The plant, which opened a year ago at Minnesota Brewing on W. 7th Street, could face another $55,000 in fines if it fails to have odor-control equipment installed by July 31, according to Rhonda Land, an inspector for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Some residents near the former Schmidt
Grant to stem odor of ethanol advances
Published on March 7, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
A proposed state grant to help Gopher State Ethanol install a $1.2 million thermal oxidizer to remove odor at its St. Paul plant moved Tuesday to the House Jobs and Economic Development Finance Committee. But the bill's sponsor, Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, said the plan faces an uphill battle. "The committee will have to decide whether the request fits inside its finance targets, and I fully expect those targets will be pretty tight," Mariani
Latest question on St. Paul ethanol odor is who should pay
Published on March 1, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
A thermal oxidizer may be on the way to St. Paul's smelly Gopher State Ethanol plant, but the question of who will pay for the $1.2 million device is unsettled. The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday unanimously backed Gopher State's request for an $800,000 state grant to install the oxidizer, which company officials believe will control sickly sweet odors that have wafted out of the W. 7th Street plant since it began ethanol production last spring. Gopher State would
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Gopher State Ethanol received a state permit Wednesday to install a thermal oxidizer at its St. Paul plant, increasing the chances that it will be able to significantly cut the smell of its emissions by late spring. "We are immediately ordering all the equipment we can," said Jack Lee, CEO of Minnesota Brewing Co., Gopher State's parent company. "We're hopeful we can get this thing done by spring, to alleviate any pressure that the neighbors
St. Paul will sue to stop emissions at ethanol plant
Published on February 8, 2001
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Determined to rid St. Paul of smelly and possibly harmful ethanol plant odors by summer, the City Council and Mayor Norm Coleman decided Wednesday to seek court action that would halt the annoying emissions and noise coming out of Gopher State Ethanol. They directed City Attorney Clayton Robinson to sue Gopher State and affiliated companies under St. Paul's public nuisance ordinance. The council also approved a $100,000 study by a Duke University medical school
Consultants hired to address ethanol odor problem
Published on December 7, 2000
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
St. Paul has hired two consultants to help find the best way to remove the stench from emissions generated since last spring by an ethanol plant on W. 7th Street, the City Council learned Wednesday. Dan Smith of the Planning and Economic Development Department said that a design engineer with industry experience has been retained to advise officials and work with Gopher State Ethanol. Also, Smith said, the city has asked a nationally recognized Kansas City firm to come
St. Paul City Council news
Published on November 9, 2000
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Hundreds of St. Paul residents have raised such a stink about the foul odor wafting from an ethanol plant on W. 7th Street that Mayor Norm Coleman and the City Council are joining forces to eliminate the annoying smell. The mayor and Council Member Chris Coleman announced Wednesday a new strategy to analyze possible solutions and determine whether St. Paul can use its public nuisance powers to stop ethanol production if no acceptable solution emerges. Shortly after a
Ethanol producers think they've found scrubber to cut odor
Published on October 18, 2000
By Kevin Duchschere; Staff Writer
Minnesota Brewing Co. officials believe they have hit upon the right industrial scrubber to cleanse St. Paul's air of a sweet, yeasty odor that has accompanied ethanol production at their plant since last spring. Now the only problem left may be deciding who pays for it. Jack Lee, CEO of Minnesota Brewing and Gopher State Ethanol, and others will make a presentation on the scrubber and discuss a recent analysis of the odor-causing emissions at a public hearing at 7
St. Paul sets hearing over ethanol emissions
Published on September 28, 2000
By Curt Brown; Staff Writer
As an outcry over odors from a St. Paul ethanol plant grows, city leaders have scheduled a public hearing they hope will help pressure Minnesota Brewing Co. officials to curtail stinky emissions on the city's West End. Although St. Paul has no specific ordinances addressing odors, angry residents submitted a petition demanding a hearing to determine if the plant is violating city nuisance laws. Deputy Mayor Susan Kimberly and City Council Member Chris Coleman said
Brewer is bubbling over
Published on August 4, 2000
By Tony Kennedy; Staff Writer
The maker of Grain Belt beer doubled its sales and nearly quadrupled its profits during a robust second quarter that was by far the best in the brewery's modern history. St. Paul's MBC Holding Co., formerly Minnesota Brewing Co., booked net income of $513,770, or 12 cents a share, on sales of $8.5 million. A year ago, the brewery posted net income of $131,410, or 4 cents a share, on sales of $4.3 million. Since Minneapolis investment banker Bruce Hendry bought
`Miracle on W. 7th St.'
Published on August 11, 1999
By Tony Kennedy; Staff Writer
When Jack Lee replaced Dick McMahon as CEO of Minnesota Brewing Co. on May 20, 1997, skeptics believed Lee was under orders from plant owner Bruce Hendry to auction the legendary Grain Belt brand and sell the place for scrap. In a recent interview, Lee acknowledged that the skeptics were warm. His actual assignment was to decide whether to keep the business going - a proposition that appeared impossible until he seized on the idea of using a cellar full of mothballed fermentation