Waste-to-Ethanol Plant Possible for Northern Indiana

A consortium named Indiana Ethanol Power LLC is negotiating with the Lake County Solid Waste Management District in Northern Indiana to build the first facility in the United States to convert commercial municipal solid waste to ethanol using a patented process, GeneSyst.

The estimated project cost is $100 million, and the facility would process 1,500 tons a day, says Stefanie Walker, a spokeswoman for Borshoff, a public-relations firm.

“A contract has not been executed for a construction team as of yet, however a design team and IEP have been in discussions with several major national and local contractors that are eager to assist with the project,” she adds.

The facility is expected to produce 20 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol and other products each year if approved.

Financing has been received, and the project has also received a $100,000 grant from Indiana’s Office of Energy & Defense Development.

IEP would work closely with local communities and environmental interest groups to select the facility site within Lake County. Approximately 120 to 130 employees would be hired to operate the facility. Construction could begin in 2008 and should be completed within two years.

Indiana Ethanol Power LLC is composed of RW Armstrong; GeneSyst International Inc.; River’s Bend Engineering Inc.; and Ghafari Associates LLC.

St. Louis Water PlantTo Get $87M Expansion

An $87 million, 30-month was announced for Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District’s Lemay Wastewater Treatment Plant Wet Weather Expansion project

The project will increase the peak wet-weather treatment capacity of the Lemay treatment plant. Work includes a 558-ft-long tunnel, 12-ft-diameter sewer piping, construction of four primary clarifiers, two grit basins, a primary sludge pump station, grit-handling building and cast-in-place vaults.

Completion is scheduled for early 2010. St. Louis-based Tarlton Corp. is the contractor.