A long-running ethanol-plant hearing is drawing to a close in Conoy Township.

"It is our expectation that the hearing sessions will wrap up this week," township solicitor Matthew Creme said Monday.

Monday's session was reserved solely for public comment on the $100 million corn-to-ethanol distillery proposed for construction by Lancaster Biofuels on a 65-acre tract between Route 441 and the Susquehanna River.

The final session in the conditional-use hearing process is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Bainbridge Fire Hall.

That doesn't mean there won't be any last-minute surprises. Creme said Lancaster Biofuels will present testimony from another witness Wednesday, although he did not identify who would testify or what the topic of testimony would be.

That drew immediate complaints from some opponents of the plan, who said it leaves no time to prepare for cross-examination of the witness.

Although there will be no meetings after Wednesday for testimony or questions, Creme said supervisors have set a Feb. 22 deadline for submission of written comments, findings and proposed conditions on the plant.

"The board will plan to make its decision on the application … at their March 13 regular meeting," he said.

During public comments Monday, several area residents voiced concerns about the plant.

"I don't question that it would be desirable for this country and the citizens of this country to be less dependent on Middle Eastern oil, but it is not clear to me that the solution is corn-produced ethanol," Susan Richman of Stackstown Road, Bainbridge, said.

She said some reports suggest that ethanol decreases fuel efficiency and increases the cost of corn and other food. Also, she said, the plant could damage the local environment with air, noise and light pollution as well as heavy traffic on Route 441.

"The potential is there, and it has not been made clear to me that the potential will not be realized," she said. "What is the good that this plant would do for Conoy Township? … How can we feel secure in placing trust in those responsible for building and operating the plant?"

Charlene Grove of Stackstown Road, Marietta, said she is concerned "about the immediate and long-term effects on human life."

Not all plant emissions have an odor, she said, and not all health risks are immediately evident.

She drew comparisons to the 1979 incident at Three Mile Island nuclear plant and questions that linger regarding the prevalence of cancer in that area in the years following.

"Don't be driven by money, but by the way this proposed plant will benefit the members of this community," Grove said. "I don't know what the benefits will be for us, and I would like to know."

Brett Pickel of River Road, Bainbridge, said there hasn't been enough expert testimony provided by the applicant, and said, "I do not believe in converting food into fuel. … We should be looking at ways to replace gasoline, not extend it."

Pat Lemay of Sun Lane, Millersville, said she worries most about potential health hazards.

"There have been no public-health studies done on how the production of ethanol affects human health. We just don't know," she said.

"Lancaster Biofuels has not made its case," she said. "They have not provided enough real information, and no real guarantee of anything."

Manor Township Supervisor John May said Lancaster Biofuels has not made its case or provided all of the answers needed for approval.

He also said Cilion, an investment firm backing the project, should be contracted to see it through.

"You ought to have in hand an irrevocable written guarantee that Cilion will be responsible for this project and will stay with it," May said. "If you don't, I wouldn't suggest that this be approved."

James Warner, executive director of Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, made the final comments of the evening — and the only remarks in favor of approval.

The authority not only neighbors the proposed plant site, but it also has offered to sell the tract to Lancaster Biofuels for $2.7 million and will, if the project is approved, provide the new plant with steam power.

Warner said the site "has exceptional characteristics for the project they propose," including easy access to a railway, water source, state highway and power.

It also stands to benefit state and local governments quite a lot, he said.

If the project is approved, he said, the township would realize approximately $120,000 in zoning and permit fees prior to construction. Elizabethtown Area School District would receive $600,000 in new real-estate taxes, and Lancaster County would receive $125,000. (Conoy Township does not impose a real estate tax, Warner said.)

The plant would employ 45 full-time workers and 20 full-time support personnel, with a combined payroll of about $3 million, he said.

Lancaster Biofuels also would purchase about $3 million in local goods and services each year, he said, including an estimated 2 million bushels of local corn.

"We ask that you approve the conditional-use application with reasonable conditions," he said.

When asked by Jill Nagy, special counsel for the township, whether the authority is willing to offset the administrative costs of the hearing process, Warner said the board of directors "would certainly entertain that."

E-mail: tknapp@lnpnews.com