Kyle Geissler talks with Janesville Gazette reporter Stacy Vogel about Thursday's DNR hearing on the ethanol plant in Milton.
John Dorn has dubbed his Milton home Ethanol Acres and has plastered signs voicing his displeasure with the United Ethanol plant all around the property.
John Dorn holds a pair of his signs that normally lean against an evergreen hedge on his property along County Rd. M at E. M-H Townline Rd in Milton. The United Ethanol plant is in the background.
A gas mask hangs from a barbecue grill in John Dorn's front yard, less than a mile from the United Ethanol plant in Milton.
MILTON — A large sign on John Dorn's roof last week read "Ethanol Acres."
The name is not an affectionate one.
The local artist has lived at his home at 6617 E. Milton-Harmony Townline Road for 25 years. He lovingly restored the abandoned property and coaxed a Japanese rock garden to life in his backyard.
Then the ethanol plant moved in, and everything went down the drain, Dorn said.
"At one time, (the home) was worth more than $200,000," he said. "Now it's not worth a dime. I can't give it away."
Dorn has fought the United Ethanol plant at 1250 Chicago St., a few hundred yards from his home, since the company announced its plans. Today, more than a year after the plant started producing ethanol, he says the noise and smell are at times overwhelming.
Dorn mounted the "Ethanol Acres" sign and dozens more around his property in an effort to bring people to a permit hearing Thursday at the Shaw Municipal Building, 430 E. High St., Milton.
United Ethanol has requested permission to install new equipment and make other changes at the plant. Plant officials say the new equipment, a regenerative thermal oxidizer, will address noise issues at the plant and bring the plant into compliance with some violations listed in a Department of Natural Resources report last month.
"United Ethanol cares about their neighbors," Dori Lichty, plant spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail to The Janesville Gazette. "That's why we are installing a new $2 million, multi-chamber RTO (regenerative thermal oxidizer). That's why we have all the new RTO pieces on site so we can begin construction as soon as the DNR permit is approved."
Dorn doesn't believe the plant's statements. He believes the plant wants to install the new equipment to increase its production capacity, he said.
In fact, the new equipment will increase the plant's capacity, but not beyond its allowable limit, Lichty said.
The plant now produces 42 million gallons of ethanol a year, but it has a permit to produce up to 60 million gallons. The new equipment will allow it to produce up to 55 million gallons, Lichty wrote.
City officials believe United Ethanol's statement that the new equipment will address problems, and they sent a letter to the DNR supporting the plant's permit request.
"We're definitely in favor of a new RTO," Mayor Nate Bruce said. "Hopefully it'll help with some of the noise and some of the odor."
The DNR has made a "preliminary determination" that the permit request meets state and federal air pollution requirements and should be approved, according to a public notice of the hearing.
The department welcomes anyone interested in learning or speaking about the permit request to Thursday's hearing, said Eileen Pierce, DNR regional air and waste leader.
Dorn plans to be there, and his signs encourage others to do the same.
A urinal on his property last week read "Let's flush these boys out of town." A sign painted on his pickup said "Ethanol stinks."
Dorn's efforts have created buzz around town, where people sometimes call him "Mr. Ethanol," he said. Some people have urged him to give up, but he says he'll fight the ethanol plant to his last breath.
"If I shut up, that plant's never going to go away," he said. "They'll bring another plant next door."
STORYLINE
The issue: The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released a report in June listing more than 170 permit violations at the United Ethanol plant in Milton. The report called the plant a "high-priority violation" and said the department would consider referring the case to the Department of Justice for fines and forfeitures.
The report said the plant tested over the limit in October for certain emissions, but Eileen Pierce, DNR regional air and waste leader, told the city in an e-mail that the DNR "does not have evidence demonstrating an immediate danger to public health."
The department continues to evaluate the situation, she wrote.
The plant's response: United Ethanol disputes some of the characterizations in the report, David Cramer, CEO and president, wrote in a letter to the Milton City Council.
"The majority of the issues (in the report) have been addressed, most of them very shortly after the tests were completed in October," Cramer wrote. "Unfortunately, the lag time between information-gathering and the release of the DNR report can mislead the public into believing the company is not proactive and concerned with permit compliance."
Many of the noncompliance issues involve record keeping, he wrote. Others do not apply to the plant because of the way it was constructed.
United Ethanol conducted a diagnostic test in December showing the plant was in compliance with emissions limits, Cramer wrote. An official test was done in June, but the results aren't available yet, Pierce told The Janesville Gazette.
The plant believes a new piece of equipment will address some noncompliance issues as well as noise complaints from neighbors, Cramer wrote. United Ethanol is waiting for a permit from the DNR to install the equipment.
The DNR is taking public comment about the permit request Thursday.
The city's response: The Milton City Council sent a letter to the DNR dated July 18. The letter says the city supports the DNR's efforts to seek permit compliance and United Ethanol's permit request for the new equipment. It also requests the DNR to test the air and water around the plant.
The DNR is reviewing the city's letter, Pierce said. The department hopes to send a response to the city by Friday, Aug. 8, but that's not a firm deadline, she said.
City officials have expressed frustration with both United Ethanol and the DNR at the time it's taking for United Ethanol to come into compliance.
"I'm not real happy with what's been going on," said David Adams, council member. "I've been following both sides, listening to the complaints of the neighbors and the answers from United Ethanol, and I don't think they're adequate answers."
Adams also wants to know why the DNR says it doesn't have evidence of an immediate public health risk, he said.
"On what data do you base that statement?" he asked. "I think these people have a right to know more than what's in a broad answer like that."
IF YOU GO
What: DNR public hearing concerning United Ethanol's request for permit changes.
When: 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
Where: Milton City Council chambers, 430 E. High St.
Send comments: If you can't make the public hearing but still want to comment, you can submit written comments by Monday to: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Air Management, 101 S. Webster St., Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921, Attn: Don C. Faith III.