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E85, Inc. Kansas Ethanol Plant Clears First Hurdle

This article is taken from the Rush County News.

A proposed ethanol plant in southeast Rush County has moved into the second phase of planning following a meeting with the Kansas Department of Water Resources on March 20 in Pratt.

Representatives from E85 Inc., the company looking at a site south of Otis, attended the meeting to see what extent the state is willing to support the project.

Representatives from the Rush County Commissioners, Rush County Economic Development and Industrial Development, and four or five local irrigators also attended to show support for the project.

Letters of support from the communities of Otis, Bison, La Crosse and Albert were presented to KDWR us well as RCED/RCID, Rush County Commissioners, Rush County Farm Bureau and Walnut Creek Basin Association.

The KDWR has to approve any transfer of waier rights within the state of Kansas.

According to Scott Higgason of Otis, the company felt positive enough about the meeting to take the next step in the process.

The company will contact local landowners with an interest in selling water rights and proceed with test pumping to create a hydraulic engineering study.

"They are going through the right steps to see this is done right," said Higgason.

The state will reduce the amount of water rights allowed for industrial use if E85 purchases, water rights from local farmers, with a different formula set up for each parcel of ground.

"They will pump less water than what irrigators use," Higgason said.

E85 will use about 1,180 gallons of water per minute.

All process water remains in the process.

The water not in contact with production streams such as boiler and cooling tower water will be discharged as set forth by federal and local agencies.

E85 Inc. of Kingston, Washington, plans to build 10 captive ethanol facilities throughout North America over the next two years.

According to the company's website, each facility will have a production capacity of 100 million gallons per year.