|
Ethanol's growth spurs water worries
<br />~ ETHANOL FROM Al
<br />1 That amount could quadru-
<br />ple by 20ll if the state's ethanol
<br />production more than doubles,
<br />as expected.
<br />"I would characterize it as
<br />a concern about where we're
<br />going to allocate groundwa-
<br />ter over the next 10 years rel-
<br />ative to what are the needs go-
<br />ing to be in 20 or 30 years, and
<br />whether we're doing a good job
<br />in thinking ahead; 'said MPCA
<br />Commissioner Brad Moore.
<br />In many cases, there's con-
<br />siderable uncertainty about
<br />how much water is available
<br />underground.
<br />And even when ethanol
<br />plant developers test aqui-
<br />fers-the underlying layers of
<br />porous rock and sand that store
<br />water -the results can be mis-
<br />leading. The Granite Falls plant
<br />had been given a temporary
<br />three-year groundwater per-
<br />mit from the Minnesota De-
<br />partment of Natural Resourc-
<br />es, but had to switch to the riv-
<br />er after little over a year.
<br />The ethanol industry is de-
<br />veloping new technology that
<br />will reduce the amount of wa-
<br />terneeded to produce ethanol,
<br />said Matt Hartwig, spokesman
<br />for the Renewable Fuels Asso-
<br />ciation, anational trade group.
<br />"Industry. is very aware of its
<br />use of natural resources like
<br />water and we're taking steps to
<br />improve that;' he said.
<br />Feaa for future resources
<br />The exponential growth of
<br />ethanol plants and burgeon-
<br />ingneed for groundwater wor-
<br />ry Jeff Broberg, a licensed geol-
<br />ogist and president of the Min-
<br />nesota TYout Association Bro-
<br />berg said that groundwater is
<br />an "unseen environment" and
<br />that .ethanol plants wily de-
<br />plete what's used for drinking
<br />and for sustaining the headWa-
<br />ters of many trout streams, es-
<br />pecially in southeastern Min-
<br />nesota.
<br />"There's public interest in
<br />protecting these resources
<br />not only now, but also in the
<br />future;' Broberg said. "We're
<br />dealing with groundwater
<br />that's probably 5,000 years old,
<br />ETHANOL IN MINNESOTA •
<br />Gallons of ethanol produced yearly in Minnesota since 2000, with projections. 2011: '•
<br />2008: 1.8 billion gaL ~, ;
<br />734 mullion gal.
<br />zoo6: I zoo9:
<br />2000: S50 million gal. ~1 1.3 b ~on gal.
<br />220 rrilion gal. 11 11
<br />...
<br />Millions of gallons 500 1,000 1,500 !t "'
<br />Source: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Muinesota Department of Agnculture Star'IYibune
<br />;~,i;_.
<br />,
<br />ETHANOL II1T OTA: PRESENT AND FUTURE because there's a potential for;
<br />~- - -, _ _ ~ a problem in the future;' Sit"
<br />terholm said. "It makes sense°'
<br />_ _ ,' _ As of January2008, Minnesota's 17 operating to give a tentative go-ahead'to`
<br />~ ethanol facilities can produce 734 million companies and monitor the'e~
<br />__ gallons per year. New plants are expected to fects of it: ' ~' `
<br />__
<br />i increase that amount to 1.8 billiongallons ~ The only way to truly knbvi~~'
<br />'i ~ - _ annually by 2011. ___ how much water can be tap)3ed'
<br />`, 7D~ ~ i ~; on a long-term basis, said $et-'
<br />- - -- 1 I ~/' terholm, is know the locati~n~
<br />~-- -~"~ ~`7 ;~ size and number of aquifersi~'
<br />- _ - --~- y ~ an area, how they are relate''
<br />''~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~' ~ to surface lakes and rivers, and
<br />~_ __ _ _`- ; ~ r- I ~ -- .; how they are recharged. A lot'"
<br />i ; ~ ~' of that work has not ever bee`ch`
<br />^ ~re7:~
<br />t ,~6s f r__~ ® done;'hesaid.
<br />~ _ ~
<br />_ _ , g The Environmental Qu~h
<br />~ ~ ~ ~z2 ~ ~ ity Board (EQB), cons> tS'
<br />~0° ~ ~ za ~ _~_-~1ia-'~ ~ y ~ ~~, ~ of citizens and commisstort-`'
<br />~~ ,~ ~ 3 ~ ~- ~ Under construction ers from various agencies thatr'
<br />- , QT._' _ ~~ -~ ~~~ ~ deal with the environm~tit
<br />~,~ 110 ~45'~ !~ ~~ will take u that uestion
<br />50 ~~ _- _, Q55 r ` ~~ Proposed/tentative P q ~
<br />p ~ the coming weeks. Its staff
<br />With millions
<br />~- ~4r,~. ~~ -~ ~ ~~ i ~'~ ;' of gallons published a report last y~a~~
<br />S ,_ 20 ~ ,-'
<br />~~ ~! that indicated some'Itvin CJt '
<br />'~~` '- ~ ~ ~ ~1l CapaClty
<br />~~ ~ _ ~ __ } y -j ~ ~-- ies metro counties are facttS~'
<br />~ I 55 ~~''~,`~ { ~10~
<br />_ limits on how much ground
<br />~`~ ~ ~'~,-- ~~ ~ ~~-~~- 6~-~-L~ ~~' water will be available for ftf ~~~
<br />I °.
<br />08 1 ss ~ ~ Oss ~-~ tore use. Ramsey County is"~~,
<br />31 :~
<br />} 2~1 -- " ~ ~ ~ a4 ~` i ! ~? read usin more oundwate;l•~
<br />Y g ~
<br />~_ ~ __._ iss ~ ~0 ! g0 ~pb~ '~Q42 _-_~ than is considered renewable,..
<br />according to the report, artd"
<br />Source: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Minnesota Department of Agriculture W ~ t H ~rlt~'~
<br />and we don't get it back, and
<br />our state agencies have no idea
<br />of what's sustainable in terms
<br />of water use."
<br />Individual ethanol plants
<br />must receive water appropri-
<br />ation permits from the Min-
<br />nesota Department of Natu-
<br />ral Resources, which requires
<br />owners of proposed plants to
<br />drill-wells and conduct tests to
<br />determine how. high-volume
<br />pumping will affect ground-
<br />water supplies.
<br />Jinn Sehl, the DNR's ground-
<br />water specialist in southern
<br />Minnesota, said that once giv-
<br />en permits, companies are al-
<br />so required to monitor. vari-
<br />ous wells constantly and to re-
<br />port their findings. "If we see
<br />groundwater starting to drop,
<br />it's a warning shot across the
<br />bow," Sehl said. Companies can
<br />be told to cut back production,
<br />shut down temporarily, or shin
<br />to a different source of water if
<br />there is trouble, he said.
<br />Is there erwugh for us allT
<br />Dale Setterholm, associate
<br />director of the Minnesota Geo-
<br />logical Survey said the DNR's
<br />as g on, ennepm
<br />Dakota counties could reat'}l`
<br />their limits by 2030. ; i°`"~
<br />John Wells, EQB strate'g` i~''`
<br />planning director, said that'lt's
<br />time for the state to look mbt~`'
<br />comprehensively a[ how city'
<br />rent and future demands frolfi~'
<br />ethanol, population grov~t}1~
<br />and other needs will ma~~~`
<br />up with available groundv~'-''
<br />ter supplies. zs~:
<br />"It's not a crisis, but it's a~ldt
<br />different than saying we've
<br />all the water we need and
<br />never need to worry about
<br />
<br />approach is reasonable, given Wells said. "We're not there;
<br />the general lack of knowledge anymore." 11
<br />.llj,;;
<br />about groundwater supplies ~. `:
<br />in the state. "I don't think you rom Meersman • r;lz-6r3a3ss . ~ t4 i; k
<br />4
<br />can deny somebody water just j; '`~.
<br />
<br />G;
<br />« IT'S NOT A CRISIS, BUT IT'S A LOT DIFFERENT THAN SAYING WE'VE GOT ALL THE WATER WE' ;: , ~;
<br />
|