Gopher State Ethanol

This web page was last modified Wed, Jul 26, 2006 at 2:49 AM.

Gopher State Links - The Little Plant That Couldn't

The GSE Index Page

• The GSE index page is a detailed documentary accounting of the sorry history of Gopher State Ethanol. For obvious reasons, the GSE Index site is no longer updated.

Selected Documents

• circa December, 2004 – Postcard–sized printer’s proof of announcement for sealed bid auction of Gopher State Ethanol’s land, buildings, and equipment.
• Minnesota Department of Health report
• May 1st, 2002 – Environmental Health Information: Gopher State Ethanol – Minnesota Department of Health

  What is the history of the site? In the fall of 2000 the Minnesota Brewing Company expanded its facility located in the West Seventh Street neighborhood near downtown to include ethanol production. Ethanol, or grain alcohol, can be made from corn and can be added to gasoline for use as fuel. In response to numerous community complaints about odors and reported health effects, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency requested that the Minnesota Department of Health investigate and evaluate the possibility of health effects caused by emissions from ethanol production. MDH has made a number of site visits to both the brewery and ethanol plant, including roof top observations of various emission points. The plant is located in a densely populated area of the city with several schools nearby.

• October 2nd, 2002 – EPA files complaint in U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota The ethanol manufacturing process at the Defendant's facility results in emissions of significant quantities of …nitrogen oxides ("NOx"), carbon monoxide ("CO"), particulate matter ("PM" and "PM₁₀"), sulfur dioxide ("SO2"), volatile organic compounds ("VOCs"), and hazardous air pollutants ("HAPs").
• November 18th, 2002 – Minnesota Department of Health comments on proposed consent decree MDH is concerned that the terms of the proposed CD do not address these issues… GSE is located within a very densely populated area. Since GSE began operating in April 2000, local residents have lodged hundreds of complaints of foul odors, excessive noise, and negative health effects. These complaints have been logged by city and state officials.
• June 5th, 2003 – Amended Consent Decree Gopher State shall implement a program of compliance at its ethanol production and distillation facility to attain the emission levels required under this Consent Decree for VOCs, PM, PM₁₀, CO, and NOx…Gopher State shall control and minimize fugitive particulate matter emissions from facility operations as set forth in the approved Control Technology Plan…
• Second ammonia leak in September, 2001
• First fire in March, 2002
• Second fire in June, 2002
• July 26th, 2003 – Fire Damages Gopher State Ethanol Plant by Terry Collins – Minneapolis Star Tribune – Well, I think this is an ongoing reaffirmation that a plant like that doesn't belong in a residential neighborhood," said City Council Member Chris Coleman. The plant is in his ward.
• March 1st, 2003 – Last call for ethanol? St. Paul plant still under fire by Curt Brown – Minneapolis Star Tribune …people are tired of seeing profit motives interfering with their right to live in their homes without the smell and the noise of an ethanol plant in their back yard.
• May 12th, 2003 – St. Paul takes Gopher State Ethanol to court again by Kevin Duchschere – Minneapolis Star Tribune …Mayor Randy Kelly vetoed a City Council resolution backing the bill, then a few weeks later flew to a Minnesota Wild playoff game courtesy of a Gopher State owner.
• January 8th, 2004 – St. Paul: Ethanol plant fails smell test by 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.
• February 5th, 2004 – St. Paul: Ethanol plant will get more testing by 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 shut down or accept more stringent pollution–control standards.
• May 14th, 2004 – Gopher ethanol plant closes by Tony Kennedy – Minneapolis Star Tribune – 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.
• December 15th, 2004 – Gopher State Ethanol liquidating assets, including St. Paul plant by Curt Brown – Minneapolis Star Tribune – Gopher State Ethanol, the sour–smelling, history–making, bankrupt alternative–fuel plant in the heart of St. Paul, is officially kaput.
• April 16th, 2005 – New builder to buy old brewery by Robert Ingrassia and Tim Nelson – Pioneer Press – From 2000 to May 2004, Gopher State Ethanol turned corn into fuel at the complex, sparking a multiyear battle with the neighborhood and the city over odor, noise and pollution. Gopher State filed for bankruptcy in August and is in the process of selling its assets, including the brewery site.