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Department of Ecology News Release - Sept. 2, 2003
03-173
SPOKANE - The company planning to build an ethanol production plant near Moses Lake has received its air-quality permit from the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), which is the last major permit before construction can begin.
The company also will need to apply for coverage under Ecology's general permit for managing storm water during the construction project. That process will take less than a month to complete and is intended ensure the company keeps stormwater runoff and snowmelt from carrying contaminants to underground water, lakes and streams.
"The air-quality permit was, by far, the biggest hurdle to clear," said Tom Clark, an engineer with Ecology's air-quality program. "This was a very complex air-quality permit, and the company really did a good job of engineering a reduction in air pollution."
Pacific Rim Ethanol plans to use state-of-the-art pollution-control equipment to significantly reduce air emissions coming from the facility, Clark explained.
By fermenting grain from Washington wheat and barley farms, the company will create 40 million gallons of ethanol each year, along with several other products, such as wheat gluten, alcohol for both beverage and industrial uses, and high-grade animal feed.
Ethanol is added to gasoline to increase oxygen in the mixture, which helps the gasoline burn cleaner and produce less carbon monoxide and ground-level ozone, or smog.
The ethanol plant will be located at the defunct Pacific Northwest Sugar Company sugar-beet processing plant. It will use about 17 million bushels of barley and about 4 million bushels of wheat each year to fuel its ethanol production.
According to industry reports, the national demand for fuel ethanol is estimated at 1.8 billion gallons. The demand in the Northwest is estimated at 60 million gallons per year. The fuel ethanol currently used in the Pacific Northwest is brought in from Midwest plants and the Caribbean.
"The Moses Lake plant will be the only source of fuel ethanol in the Northwest," said Ecology's Director Tom Fitzsimmons. "This is a huge economic shot in the arm for Eastern Washington and a positive step forward for an industry that helps reduce pollution in the environment."
The total project cost is nearly $122 million.
Pacific Rim Ethanol LLC has already been through the state's environmental review procedures, with the city of Moses Lake and Ecology leading the process to identify and analyze any potential environmental harm.
"Ecology is satisfied that the company's plans will fully protect water and air quality," said Doug Jayne, who works in Ecology's Spokane office helping companies and individuals through the permit and regulation maze. "The fact that the company decided to use an existing industrial site instead of raw helped minimize any additional harm to the environment."
Pacific Rim Ethanol hopes to begin constructing the plant this year, with operation slated for 2004.
Before operating, Pacific Rim also will need coverage under a stormwater permit for running the facility and a waste-discharge permit to protect the quality of underground water. The company is proposing to use lined lagoons already existing on the property to let the waste water settle and evaporate, with no discharge from the property.
The city of Moses Lake will supply water to the ethanol plant.
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Contact: Jani Gilbert, Department of Ecology, 509-456-4464; pager, 509-622-1289
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
