Neighbors Come out in Opposition of Proposed Ethanol Plant near Caldwell

by Torrie Cope (Idaho Press-Tribune) Residents who live in the area of Lower Pleasant Ridge Road fear that a proposed ethanol plant could lower their property values, spoil their views and bring unwanted traffic, noise and odor to the neighborhood. The people who live near the site have packed the room at public hearings, delivered hours of testimony, written in opposition to the plan and signed a petition all in an effort to keep the project away from their homes.

Demeter Bio-Resources wants to build a 50,000-square-foot food processing plant that includes an ethanol plant near Caldwell. It will also process fertilizer, grow crops on site and conduct agricultural research. All of those things are allowed in the M-1, light industrial zoning of the 64-acre property at 19560 Lower Pleasant Ridge Road, except for one. The ethanol plant is only permitted with a conditional use permit from the county. Although the ethanol plant portion is small — 10 times smaller than the average size of an ethanol plant in the Midwest and seven times smaller than Idaho’s ethanol plant in the Magic Valley, according to Demeter — it has become a major roadblock for the project.

The company picked the site in Caldwell for its project because it’s in an area zoned for industrial use. The facility will sit back about a quarter-mile from Lower Pleasant Ridge Road to be in line with other industrial facilities in the area. The portion of the property closest to the road will be used to grow crops. That portion will make up about 60 percent of the land. The property will also be lined with trees to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

The Canyon County Planning and Zoning Commission denied the permit for the project after coming to a 2-2 tied vote. It was appealed to the Canyon County Commissioners, who are scheduled to determine the project’s fate Tuesday.

The plant will also extract protein from those materials for other food products. But in addition to the valuable components of the crops, there are sugars and starch, which are the nonvaluable parts. That’s where the ethanol plant comes in. “To get our other products extracted efficiently, we choose to ferment the starch and sugar and make alcohol,” Chimonas said. READ MORE / MORE (permit denied)