An April 24 Environmental Protection Agency letter sent to 23 ethanol producers in multiple states addressed a growing concern over ethanol plant emissions of volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide "many times greater than that stated by the producers during the permitting process."

EPA asked the producers, along with the Renewable Fuels Association, to attend an information meeting in Chicago June 3, to discuss the issue. Most are expected to attend.

The following is a direct excerpt from the letter:

"We believe these (ethanol) facilities are not properly permitted and controlled with respect to a number of pollutants as they were initially constructed or modified," a Region 5 EPA official said in the letter. "We expect that this circumstance is not unique to the tested facilities, but rather is common to most, if not all, ethanol facilities.

"Normally, U.S. EPA would remedy the violations at each of these facilities individually, through a lengthy period of information gathering followed by the traditional enforcement process. By this letter, we would like to invite representatives of the Renewable Fuels Association and Region 5 ethanol production facilities to attend a brief meeting. . . for the purpose of gauging your interest in exploring an expedited resolution to these issues. We feel that this approach can give certainty to the industry by quickly addressing both state and federal concerns and resolving them on terms most favorable to the industry."

The meeting was originally scheduled to be held May 6, but has since been rescheduled for June 3.

For more information on the meeting, contact U.S. EPA Region 5, 312-353-2072.