Will an ethanol plant endanger Lake Martin?

In all likelihood the process used to manufacture ethanol in the Tallapoosa County Regional Industrial Park won’t be the spoiler.  That is, as long as the new technology that exists to greatly reduce or eliminate particulates and odor/aroma is designed and built into the proposed plant as promised.

The spoiler role would be Dadeville’s twenty-eight year old wastewater facility and aged sewer line.  Unless this treatment plant gets a costly and significant upgrade well before the plant begins production our lake will be exposed to high risk.  Two things are certain.  The stakes are very high for our lake, and Tallapoosa County desperately needs significant additional revenue.  Those two certainties are not mutually exclusive.  We can protect our lake while the county and City of Dadeville would reap the financial rewards.  All entities need to work as one team to achieve both worthy goals.

We can’t afford to allow the quality of the water in Lake Martin to be reduced.  CALM believes that we should be making preparations to improve the existing quality where necessary and raise regulatory standards to protect our lake for generations to come.  If, after a somewhat lengthy application process, Alabama’s Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) approves Lake Watch of Lake Martin’s request to classify our lake as an Outstanding Alabama Waterway (OAW) the standards bar on water quality will be raised.  That will be the best thing for this area’s only real economic engine and it should ensure that when we leave this earth our children and grandchildren would inherit what they deserve.

The residents surrounding Lake Martin must require that all of the parties (to include major investor(s), economic development alliance, county commission, city council, and industrial development authority) perform proper, and extra, due diligence before the final decision is made.  All of us will greatly regret if, looking at the rear-view mirror, we find that a major mistake was made along the way to a decision.

Note:  CALM’s chairman is a member of the board of directors of the Lake Martin Area Industrial Development Authority, a member of the Middle Tallapoosa Clean Water Partnership, and a member Tallapoosa County’s Citizen's Finance Committee.

Dave Heinzen

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