The Ethanol Industry: Effects on Water Resources March 21, 2007

Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP) will hold a summit conference entitled “The Ethanol Industry: Effects on Water Resources” on Wednesday, March 21, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., at the American Legion Hall, 112 NE 5th Street, Faribault. CRWP is a membership-based, nonprofit (501(c)(3) business with an office in Northfield, MN. The Cannon River watershed encompasses 1,462 square miles from the river’s headwaters south of Owatonna and east of Waseca to its mouth at Red Wing. It includes the cities of Owatonna, Waseca, Faribault, Northfield, Cannon Falls and Red Wing, and is a popular recreational, hunting, and fishing area. The Cannon River is designated a state Wild and Scenic River from Faribault to its confluence with the Mississippi River, and is also designated an Outstanding Resource Value Water.

With intensifying interest in corn production and ethanol markets, with one corn ethanol production plant in the permitting process just outside the watershed boundary in Janesville, MN, and another proposed in Bridgewater Township of Rice County, CRWP staff, board, and members have begun informing themselves about water and natural resource topics related to the production of biofuels. The topics are many, varied, and interconnected. The production of biofuels raises all the questions related to any type of energy production, from site development for a production plant, to source material procurement, to emission and sequestration of greenhouse gases.

CRWP’s conference will focus on uses of water by ethanol plants, on the assessment of these uses by the permitting agencies, MN Pollution Control Agency and MN Department of Natural Resources, and on regional groundwater planning. Representatives of the ethanol industry have been invited, and the following speakers have agreed to participate: Nancy Drach, MPCA, Jeff Green, MN DNR, Dr. Dennis Keeney, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Dale Setterholm, MN Geological Survey, and John Nieber, University of Minnesota.

Those interested may visit the CRWP website to obtain a brochure and to register, or may contact the CRWP office for registration information: 507-786-8400 or staff@crwp.net The brochure shown here also may be printed and mailed with registration to CRWP, 8997 Eaves Avenue, Northfield, MN 55057

Official Website: http://www.crwp.net