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States, EPA Raise Water Quality Concerns Over New Ethanol IncentivesEnergyWashington Week
EPA and state groundwater regulators are seeking to document cases where ethanol plants are harming local water supplies and water quality, as a way to show Congress the harm that will result from additional subsidies for corn production to produce ethanol and other renewable fuels. The regulators are concerned that Congress is going to expand corn production incentives in the upcoming Farm Bill to increase fuel production and bolster domestic energy security. Many farmers and farm groups are strongly encouraging Congress to provide the incentives as a way to benefit from high corn prices, which have been driven up by demand from new ethanol production facilities. With corn prices at an all-time high, the upcoming growing season "is going to be a gold rush," an EPA headquarters official told state groundwater regulators at a recent meeting. It will be very difficult to limit corn growth, state and EPA officials said, because if there is a market for corn, farmers will grow it. Instead, the EPA headquarters official suggested regulators should start formulating a plan B. "We need a strategy to document the downside [of ethanol production] as it's happening," including identifying the "war stories" about wells drying up, the officials said. The official's comments came during discussions with House Agriculture Committee staff, who downplayed prospects that lawmakers would be able to ensure the Farm Bill incentives do not harm water supplies. At its annual policy conference earlier this month, the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) -- a group of state water regulators -- repeatedly expressed general concerns to House Agriculture Committee staff over the environmental impacts of increased ethanol production and asked whether the Farm Bill could address their concerns. Even before congressional staff arrived at the April 3 meeting, EPA and state regulators had informally discussed a number of options for limiting harm to water supplies, including incentives to encourage the production of biofuels that use less water than corn ethanol, prohibiting corn production on sensitive land that has previously been protected under the Agriculture Department's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and limiting the use of crops that require high pesticide use. Despite the concern, the House staff told the state officials that the committee could not guarantee the kinds of protections sought by the state officials. "I don't know what the answers are. We'll do what we can," the committee staffer said. The staffer added the committee's interest in encouraging the use of biofuels is broader than just corn ethanol and that the Farm Bill will strike a balance between protecting the environment and encouraging agricultural production. The staffer noted that several environmental groups have expressed concern over the environmental impacts of increased corn production, and the committee is "trying to address those concerns." But the staff member would not commit to taking any specific actions. The exchange over Farm Bill protections for water quality comes as EPA last week released a series of regulatory policies that will likely encourage ethanol production. The agency issued a major rule that implements the congressional mandate to ensure 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol by 2012 and creates a trading system for fuel producers to meet their targets. The agency also finalized a controversial rule that eases air quality requirements for ethanol facilities. The agency's new rules come even as EPA officials, agency advisers and many environmentalists have been raising a series of related concerns about the environmental effects of increased biofuels production. Many have expressed particular concern about the idea of setting aside land for biofuels feedstocks within the CRP, saying it could undermine water quality and eliminate sensitive habitat. Additionally, regulators are expressing concern that farmers will seek to grow corn on CRP land once their conservation contracts expire and that there is likely to be an increase in corn production in areas where corn has not typically been grown. Earlier this year, an EPA advisory panel, the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy & Technology, urged EPA to be involved in addressing a host of environmental questions related to biofuel production questions, including siting of biorefineries and shaping distribution systems. In addition, the panel said EPA should take the lead in shaping what "key environmental considerations" should be accounted for in the production and distribution of biofuels feedstocks, including water quality and supply issues, fertilizer and pesticide use, wildlife habitat preservation and how to maximize the benefits of reduced carbon emissions through sustainable production. Even Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has publicly acknowledged water quality and supply concerns about increased corn production for ethanol. At the April 3 GWPC meeting, EPA officials cautioned that they are still struggling to come up with ways to ensure growing practices that do not result in environmental harm. "People are in such a rush to grow corn, they're forgetting the environmental effects," one EPA regional official said at the GWPC meeting. "We still haven't come up with best management practices to reduce nitrogen loading" from fertilizers, never mind addressing the effects of the controversial pesticide atrazine, the official said. Corn is already grown in areas with sandy soil, where it is easier for pollutants to contaminate groundwater, the official said. State and EPA officials also say they are concerned about competing demands for water between ethanol plants, agriculture and municipal users. Increased ethanol production will place "an enormous new stress on water resources," the EPA regional official said. Corn ethanol production requires large amounts of water, both for irrigation of the corn, especially that grown west of the Missouri River where there is less rain than other Corn Belt areas, and during the distillation process. A report issued last year on water use by ethanol plants by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) notes that most ethanol plants are being sited in the Corn Belt, portions of which are experiencing significant water supply concerns. "Minimal data is available on groundwater depletion, and the scope of future water availability is not clear," the report says. "It will be to the benefit of the ethanol industry and rural development initiatives in general, to get more clarity on the relationship between ethanol production, water consumption, and impacts on water supplies. Otherwise, shortage of water could be the Achilles heel of corn-based and perhaps cellulose-based ethanol." The report and state sources say the amount of water used to produce a gallon of ethanol varies widely, requiring as little as 1.5 gallons or as much as 12 gallons of water, but with most plants using about 3.5 to 6 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol produced. News reports and the IATP report cite several cases where ethanol plants have prompted tensions over scarce water resources. For example, a proposed ethanol plant in Pipestone, MN, failed to win permits because the local water system could not meet the 350 million gallons of water per year the plant would need. In Grand Island, NE, a proposed ethanol plant was approved only after the water need was offset by reducing water use in an agricultural area 15 miles away. And a plant in Russell, KS, has struggled to find additional water to increase its capacity, especially after a drought last summer reduced water levels in municipal wells. The IATP report recommends several ways to reduce ethanol's water consumption, including strengthening regulations over siting of ethanol plants, siting plants next to municipal wastewater facilities, looking for water recycling opportunities with livestock facilities, placing a greater economic value on water and maintaining publicly available records on ethanol's water consumption. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for research and educational purposes. |
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