I am pleased to announce that Gopher State Ethanol has filed Chapter 11, signifying an ignominious end to one of the worst boondoggles ever to sap the public treasury and sicken the men, women and children living near its polluting and dangerous plant in St. Paul's West End.
This is a two-edged victory for those of us who dived into the legal and regulatory morass that is/was the EPA, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the City of St. Paul trying to put a stop to the fouling of the air with chemicals and noise throughout the neighborhoods surrounding the converted 150-year-old former brewery. Many local businesses - and law firms - have been left in the lurch by the mismanagement and arrogance of Bruce Hendry and his partners while soaking up state and federal subsidies for self-enrichment. With assets of merely $12 million remaining, GSE owes $37 million, $5 million of it to Xcel/NSP for gas and electric and hundreds of thousands to the two law firms they used to fight any attempt to bring them into compliance with the law and defeat local residents. But the real crime was the kowtowing of elected officials, public agencies and union leadership to the exploitation Hendry and Company foisted on them in the name of preserving already doomed brewery jobs while producing a dangerous climate around and inside the brick sieve that once brewed a family beer but now refined an explosive fuel. Once again, jobs were put ahead of public health, always the worst trade-off in a civilized society. The millions of dollars Hendry sucked from the governments whose job it was to protect public health and public treasuries obviously went into his pockets and not to the legal eagles stonewalling the environmental challenges to their irresponsible operation. Lives have been shortened and harmed by this 4-year-old war on the people left by politicians, regulators and judges to fend for themselves as that money flowed into the pockets of wealthy nonresidents. Congratulations to all who never gave up on this work to force citizenship on a corporation which couldn't have cared less about its neighbors or any other part of society in the pursuit of profits. The individuals who deserve special mention for their sacrifices of time and health and for their vigilance in working for the rest of us include CASE plaintiffs: Mary Madden Shelley and Terry Markley Carol Mollner Lisa Shaffer Ross and Armaiti Winberg Darren Wolfson, and Dori Ullman plus: Therese & Bob Goddard, Diane Gerth and Janette Brimmer of the MN Center for Environmental Advocacy. There were others, but none were as long-suffering as these people and their families in the quest for healthy air in St. Paul. Their neighbors and all of us owe them a real debt of gratitude. Finally, not enough can be said or appreciated of the relentless research, legal efforts and dedication of Mike Unger, senior partner in the Minneapolis firm of Rider Bennett Egan and Arundel. Mike and all of us got an in-depth education in ethanol production and fuel emissions science - and he did it all pro bono - without charge. Mike and RBEA deserve the undying thanks of this city, this state, even this nation, for their extraordinary legal talent, services, and commitment. And thanks, too, to those citizens who stepped to the plate to help create the expense fund for this project known as CASE. About 300 or so contributed from $10 to $250 each to help us defray the court costs and ancillary expenses of pursuing our lawsuit. Although the City had to be pulled kicking and screaming into enforcing their own ordinances, sometimes backing away, two mayors and some councilmembers trying to scuttle our efforts - some people, including Assistant City Attorney Eric Larson and Bill Gunther of the Licensing, Inspections and Environmental Protection worked hard when they were able to bring some justice to the regulatory and legal fronts locally. No thanks to the MPCA or the Department of Health who had umpteen opportunities to do their jobs to protect the public health and public interest instead of enabling a polluter to just keep poisoning the city's air. The weak-kneed and conflicted Legislature and Governor Pawlenty caved to industry lobbyists - especially Cargill and Archer-Daniels-Midland - and kept pumping money into profitable ethanol operations when it was no longer needed and into lousy operations like GSE when it was destroying the environment around it. Heads should roll over this incredible boondoggle, but don't count on it. The book will be written, hopefully, recording this exercise in official callousness and private heroism. Not unlike A Civil Action or Erin Brockovich, without CASE, the EPA would never have reclassified the entire ethanol industry as major polluters. Now, at least, some restriction on equipment and emissions have been imposed on plants across Minnesota and elsewhere. The heroes are those neighbors who wouldn't let go, be intimidated by high-priced lawyers or marginalized by a judge who refused to enforce his own court orders when the evidence that GSE was so obviously in contempt of court. Congrats to all the good folks and shame on the rest. Andy Driscoll Crocus Hill/Ward 2 Saint Paul ------ _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
