Conoy Township Planning Commission said Tuesday it is unable to recommend approval of plans to build the state's first corn-to-ethanol production facility on the banks of the Susquehanna River.
But it won't recommend denial, either.
"We can't endorse this proposal because we deem the application to be incomplete," planning commissioner Stephen Rhoads said Tuesday.
"I did not want to recommend disapproval. But I want to make it very clear that we cannot recommend approval because we do not have the information we need to do so," he said. "I'm very disturbed that we haven't gotten some of this information."
Lancaster Biofuels has submitted plans for a $100-million corn-to-ethanol distillery on a 65-acre tract between the river and Route 441. The dry-mill fuel-production facility is designed to produce up to 60 million gallons of ethanol each year.
The proposal earned a mention Tuesday in Gov. Ed Rendell's budget address, in which he touted the plan as a means to reduce American dependence on foreign oil.
"Pennsylvania has the potential to be a major player in the alternative fuels sector if we invest our resources wisely to attract companies just like this one to our commonwealth," Rendell said.
Conoy Township supervisors concluded testimony in a conditional-use hearing on the ethanol plant on Jan. 23, then set a Feb. 22 deadline for submission of written comments and proposed conditions on the plant.
Supervisors intend to make a decision on the application at their March 13 meeting, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Bainbridge Fire Hall.
"I think the applicant was very responsive," Frederick Pope III, with consulting firm ENSR Corp., said Tuesday.
ENSR was hired by the township to perform a third-party review of the plan and presented its final report, including a set of recommended conditions, to supervisors on Jan. 22.
But since Lancaster Biofuels did not supply all the requested information — particularly in relation to air emissions and nuisance odors — ENSR said it was unable to provide a final set of conditions.
"The applicant has not provided sufficient information," Rhoads said. "If we endorse the recommendation the way it is written, we are condoning the applicant's failure to comply with the ordinance. I for one cannot do that."
Township solicitor Matthew Creme said recommending disapproval of the plan would end the planning commission's participation in the process and would not allow the commission to submit suggested conditions on the plan.
Consequently, the planning commission passed a resolution that fell short of recommending plan approval, and it attached a comprehensive list of proposed conditions to be considered if supervisors green-light the project.
Those conditions incorporate suggestions made in reports from ENSR and Hanover Engineering, with revisions.
For instance, a recommendation requiring Lancaster Biofuels to mitigate water contamination issues only if residents can prove the problem originated at the ethanol site was revised to place the burden of proof on Lancaster Biofuels. Also, a recommendation for the testing of local wells every two years was amended to every six months.
Additional recommendations deal with noise and vibration levels at the property line, an odor-response plan, a tower to record meteorological conditions at the site, record keeping and sanitary waste. Also, Lancaster Biofuels would be asked to form a committee, composed of representatives from the community, township officials and plant representatives, to address ongoing concerns.
Another recommendation would require a decommission plan to be submitted to address the safe removal of chemicals, waste and other materials in the event of plant closure. That would include insurance to cover the cost of onsite cleanup costs as well as any contamination of soil or groundwater.
The ENSR report notes additional conditions also may be submitted by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers before an ethanol plant could be built.
E-mail: tknapp@lnpnews.com