Questions about the Penn-Mar Ethanol plant proposed for the land to the East of Warrior Roofing (323 Development Avenue), just West of the Golf Course, and next to the proposed 400 inmate Franklin County Prison.

#1. Water (for ethanol production) where does it come from at Cumberland Valley Business Park? 

Penn-Mar Ethanol's Lancaster County, Conoy Township Water Feasibility Study states:

"The Susquehanna River will provide up to 925,000 gpd [gallons per day] of surface water for ethanol production and carbon dioxide bottling operations."
 ...A waste stream consisting of cooling water blow down and water treatment wastewaters will be discharged to the Susquehanna River."
...The maximum rate of discharge to the river will be approximately 302,000gpd."
...will be warmed to no more that 90 degrees Fahrenheit.."

#2. Where does it go?  Water that flows off-site from Letterkenny Army Depot's West side (down gradient from the Penn-Mar Ethanol land) exits via Rocky Spring Branch into trout streams and eventually the Chesapeake Bay.  

#3.  Is it safe to build an ethanol plant close to an Army ammunition operations area and the Army's military vehicle mission vital to the Iraq War?

#4. Will local truck traffic increase if the proposed Penn-Mar Ethanol plant is built?

We have some information on this one.  According to "TRAFFIC STUDY FOR THE PROPOSED PENN-MAR ETHANOL FACILITY  CONOY TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER COUNTY," truck traffic would increase "Daily (5.5 day/wk)" by 99 trucks or 198 "Trip ends."

Would these trucks use:
- Exit 20 (formerly Exit 8) at I-81 & Route 997 - (Greenvillage and Culbertson or down Route 11 to the Sunset turn)?
OVER THE BRIDGE AT 977 AND ROUTE 81
- The New Exit at Walker Road (Formerly Exit 7)?
- Exit 16 (formerly Exit 6) at Lincoln Way East (Route 30) and I-81?
- Exit 15 - Wayne Avenue and I-81?

#5. Are ethanol plants dangerous to people living and working near them?

Evacuation plans (Excerpt from Lancaster newspaper article) for the Penn-Mar Ethanol plant proposed for Lancaster County.  The Evacuation Plan call for immediate evacuation within 2.5 miles in all directions from the plant, and within 5 miles, residents must be sheltered indoors.  Township residents, businesses, and a grade school are within 2.5 miles--a significant portion of the Borough of Chambersburg is within 5 miles of the proposed plant site.  See Anhydrous ammonia - ammonia without water (8,000 lbs would be stored at the Penn-Mar plant).  Aqueous ammonia is anhydrous ammonia diluted with water.  The Evacuation Plan would also cover people near the rail cars and trucks used to carry the dangerous chemicals and products to and from the plant. 

Anhydrous Ammonia (click for more information) (from the article: Handling Anhydrous Ammonia Emergencies by ROBERT BURKE 
Published: March 2002 on the website: www.firehouse.com  
Aqueous ammonia - click here

• On Jan. 18, 2002, a Canadian Pacific freight train derailed outside Minot, ND. Five of the cars carried anhydrous ammonia. Leaking ammonia killed one person and sent dozens of others to hospitals for treatment. Ten of those seeking treatment were admitted to the hospital. Some local residents were evacuated while others were asked to shelter in place. Civil Defense sirens and local radio and TV stations alerted residents.
• In 1984, one firefighter was killed and a second was burned over 72% of his body in an anhydrous ammonia explosion and fire that occurred in Shreveport, LA. Ammonia was leaking inside a cold storage building. While firefighters were working inside in Level A chemical protection, the ammonia reached an ignition source. Though it is listed as a non-flammable gas by DOT, ammonia burns inside structures and confined spaces; it is less likely to ignite out in the open. Precautions should be taken for ammonia leaks inside buildings just as for any other flammable gas.
• An accident occurred in the late 1990s in a cold storage building in Orrtana, PA. Two plant maintenance workers, who were also local volunteer firefighters, were conducting routine maintenance on liquid ammonia lines within the facility. A leak occurred, the men were splashed with liquid ammonia and both died. Firefighting personnel responding to the incident were burned by ammonia vapors as they entered the facility in turnouts to rescue the workers.
• In Delaware County, PA, in the early 1990s, an ammonia leak occurred as workers were removing the material from a cold storage building. The entire first-alarm assignment was exposed to ammonia vapors and experienced symptoms. They all had to go through decontamination and medical treatment at the scene.

#6.  What is the experience of the company that designed the proposed Penn-Mar ethanol plant?

Lurgi PSI designed, built, and owns part of Adkins Ethanol.  State-of-the-art technology was promised, but one year later it was fined for air pollution and odors.  This is the same company that designed the Penn-Mar Ethanol plant proposed for Greene Township.
About Lurgi PSI from The Donegal Ledger, November 2004 
Adkins Energy begins ethanol production in Illinois.  August 5, 2002
Suit by Illinois Attorney General.  June 11, 2003

A resident of Lena, Illinois where the Adkins Energy plant is located spoke about the plant see-- Heidi from Lena Illinois - Adkins Energy.pdf: 

"We were promised a State-of-the-Art plant with the latest technology.   ...Many citizens experienced reactions rather quickly from breathing air that was saturated with these emissions.  Symptoms were burning eyes, lungs, and throat, you'd get headaches, cramps in your sides and feel nauseous.  ...Schools should be at least 5 miles away from any ethanol plant."