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Friday, December 09, 2005

Environment - Biodiesel plant, ducks unlimited

Biodiesel. The Gary Post-Tribune reports today:

HAMMOND | The city is leading the fight against air pollution and dependency on foreign oil with approval of the state's first biodiesel manufacturing plant.

Wolf Lake Terminals Inc. will begin producing clean-burning, renewable soybean-based fuel for vehicles early next year at its 34-acre facility on the southern shore of Wolf Lake.

Company officials picked up their permit Thursday morning at City Hall after approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday night. They aim to produce as many as 5 million gallons of environmentally friendly fuel annually. * * *

Burning biodiesel fuel produces no harmful emissions, and is made from heating soybeans -- a significant Indiana agricultural product -- with wood alcohol and an alkaline catalyst. * * *

The only by-product from producing biodiesel fuel is glycerine, said Wes Berry, consulting engineer for the project. The glycerine will be shipped elsewhere for refining for use in toothpaste, hand lotion and other personal care products.

Ducks. The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported yesterday on a plan to raise ducks for human consumption in Noble County. Ligonier-area property owners Ernest and Luella Mae Lehman were denied a zoning variance "to build a 40-by-350-foot building to house ducks closer to a nearby road and Amish school than what county ordinances allow." Instead:
Ernest Lehman told board members that he plans to use a pit underneath the building to collect the manure, and he plans to spread the manure on his ground as fertilizer.
More from the report:
Marsha Woorell, whose property sits downhill from the Lehmans, said she already gets significant runoff during heavy rain that turns her backyard into a pond. She expressed concern Wednesday about how the manure from the ducks will be contained. * * *

“If they do that … I’ve got grandbabies that run outside in the backyard. If there would be a spill or whatever they call those I can’t verify the safety of my grandbabies or my neighbors,” Woorell said. * * *

Board Chairman George Bennett reminded those in attendance several times that the issue to be decided was variances, not whether to allow the confined feeding operation.

The confined feeding operation the Lehmans plan to start is allowed under county ordinances, and duck operations do not require Indiana Department of Environmental Management approval unless there are more than 30,000 ducks on the property, Kirkpatrick said.

The Lehmans "will house up to 11,000 ducks for six weeks at a time."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 9, 2005 12:26 PM
Posted to Environment | Indiana economic development