Badger State Ethanol

Resident Testimony  

I,  JoAnn Czajka of 560 West 21^st Street Lot 5 in the Sate of Wisconsin of the United States state as follows:

 I am a single female 40 years old. I am a Epic Application Coordinator/Training Coordinator.

This statement is provided by me for the purpose of the Appeal against the approval given to Dalby Bio-Refinery Ethanol Plant by the Dalby Town Council.

 I live on 21^st Street , which I believe to be about ¼ mile from the Badger State Ethanol Plant. I work at The Monroe Clinic, which I believe to be 2 ½ miles from the plant.

 I live in a small rural community of Monroe Wisconsin , population approx. 14,000.

I have lived at my present address for the last 20 years. I am the very last house on the city line. So I have enjoyed town life but have been lucky with the country view. That all changed with the Badger State Ethanol Plant coming to Monroe .

 When our city council decided they wanted an ethanol plant, there was no stopping this adventure. Yes there was a town meeting, but no one took the time to listen to concerned citizens. Politics in a small community, in other words this plant was coming to Monroe come hell or high water! One city Alderman owned the farm on the city limits and sold approx. 80 acres to the city of Monroe . He is no longer an Alderman and now is retired and certainly not living in Monroe .

 My home is located approx. a ¼ mile southeast of the Badger State Ethanol Plant.  The smell from the plant cycles, first a yeasty smell and then along comes the fermented grain alcohol smell. Now what determines how strong the smell is in my home is whether or not the air is heavy with moisture or that just maybe there is a breeze. 

 I rise about 4:15 AM every morning, the first thing I do is look out my windows to see which direction the plume from the ethanol plant is going. I can only hope and pray that there is a breeze from the south and it’s blowing in the opposite direction of my home. Our summers here can be hot and humid and our winters, heavy with moist air and the breeze from the north. That plume decides how my day will start. This determines if I enjoy my cup of tea on the deck when I let the dogs out, or do I let the dogs out and run back inside away from the smell!

My nephew (Matthew Watter) calls the Badger State Ethanol Plant the “Iron Giant”! Before he comes to visit me, he calls on the phone and asks, “Is the Iron Giant mean or nice today”?  In other words can he get from the car into my home without gagging on the smell. Again the plant determines if I receive a visitor or not! So please note the plant makes decisions for you! 

 Early last fall I had a reporter by the name of Barbara Lyon from the Dunn County News stop at my home for an interview. She had spent most of the day at the Badger State Ethanol Plant and in the evening came to my home. There was a slight breeze from the north, so I opened my windows to enjoy that breeze. When Barbara sat in my living room I asked her a question-Compare how the smell inside the plant compares to my living room. She stated,” There is no comparison the smell is the same!” So I ask why do I have to live this way! That decision was made by the city council and might I add not one of them lives in my neighborhood to enjoy this stench!

 Having an ethanol plant in your backyard changes your life forever! Not for the good either! I am an avid gardener and have many flowerbeds along with my vegetable garden. I can no longer enjoy my backyard after a hard day at work. I used to go out to my gardens and relive the day’s frustration. Again the plant determines that for me. I can start to weed the gardens and guess what the breeze starts and the fumes from the plant head in my direction. Pack things up and go into the house and close the windows. There are days when your home may seem like a prison because of the plant.  

I used to enjoy sitting on my deck and enjoying watching the birds. Every day there is a film on the deck and furniture. So before you sit you will need to wash your space first! Again the plant makes yet another decision for you!

 Now stop and think about the plume and smell that comes with it! What worries me the most is what I cannot smell!!! You see that plume each and every day unless for some reason the plant is shut down. Then you cheer and enjoy that day for it is short lived. As far as I am concerned there is no control over what is expelled from this plant. Believe me I do not want to hear 20 years from now this is the cause of increased cancers, asthma and other health related problems.  

Let’s talk about the burn off! When the Badger State Ethanol Plant had an open house, I did go. My tour guide was named John and he never once mentioned about the burn off. He did mention that the plant was 99.5% odor free! Apparently he was hired for the looks and not the brains. The plant has proven him wrong in the smell department. The very first time I saw the burn off was frightening! It was about 2AM on a Saturday morning when I got up and noticed how my house was lit up in a glow. That glow is the burn off from the plant. At first I thought the plant was on fire. I hesitated about calling the fire department because maybe the plant would go away this way, that is a horrible feeling to hesitate when there could have been lives at stake. I called my neighbor and he kindly explained to me about the burn off. This also made me stop and think where the nearest Hazmat fire department would need to come from. The nearest would take approx. 45-50 minutes to get to us. In the mean time our volunteer fireman would need to fight this blaze. So I have resigned myself to the fact if God forbid anything happened to this plant, I more than likely would lose my home.  

Did you ever stop to consider the increase in train traffic along with the large truck traffic?

The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. runs from approx. 9PM until 6AM. Talk about increased noise! Mr. Gardner that owes this railroad talks about saving these small rural towns by building ethanol plants and of course having his railroad ship in the corn and ship out the ethanol. I see a lot of corn coming into this plant by rail. It makes me stop and think, where is this corn from? I know the local farmers in this community cannot afford to ship by rail.

 The Badger State Ethanol Plant started operation in October 2002; I have yet to see any benefit in having this plant in our town.

Lower property taxes-NOT!

Lower sales tax-NOT!

Increased revenue for our farmers-NOT!!!

Increased traffic on our streets-YES!!!

Increased noise pollution-YES!!!!

Increased air pollution-YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Loss of good neighbors-YES!!!!

Loss of free time to spend in my backyard-YES!!!!!!!!!!!  

 When the Badger State Ethanol Plant was under construction, I overheard a conversation among the workers building that plant. “Boy is this town ever stupid to build the plant in this location” So I of course asked what was wrong with the location of the plant. The one gentleman laughed and said just wait and see what you smell! Another thing to keep in mind was that construction of the plant is done by an outside construction company and will only use local contractors when a mistake has been made. That is what happened in my community.

 The winter is a little different with the smells. Our winters have been fairly mild so what happens is this; lots of moisture in the air therefore the plume has nowhere to go but down. There are days that my house is in a fog of plume! I hold my breath and make the mad dash to the car from my home. The fumes hang low to the ground so the smell is greatly increased.  

You are probably wondering why I have not sold and moved to the other side of town.

I have my elderly mother living with and she request that I not move until after she has left this world. I will honor that request but when that day comes my house will be for sale. I know that I may have trouble selling and that I more than likely will take a loss.

But I can tell you this I will not buy in Monroe . I will benefit another community by purchasing a home without an ethanol plant in the city limits.

 I plead and beg to you, the council members to think long and hard. For you will make a decision that will affect the lives of your neighbors, family, and friends for the rest of their lives for the benefit of a few business leaders to feather their nest.  

JoAnn Czajka

Saturday, July 24^th, 2004